


Hands Dealt

by Zexeos



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Doctor Strange - Freeform, Eventual Smut, F/M, Maybe it will get good one day, Post-Doctor Strange (2016), Romance, Slow Burn, Teacher-Student Relationship, The good shit, this is self serving af and im sorry if you read it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-03
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-01-29 02:08:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 66,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12620756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zexeos/pseuds/Zexeos
Summary: After finding the magical Book of the Vishanti, Juniper Jones comes to the mysterious Doctor Strange for help. He agrees to train her to control her budding powers, and over the course of a year, the two become inseparable. Stephen struggles to get a handle on his newfound feelings towards his apprentice, as Juniper does her best to keep her infatuation with her master a secret. A slow-burn fiction about falling in love, dealing with loss, and coping with new responsibilities.





	1. Take On Me - Prologue

November 17th, 2018

“Look, you’ve gotta help me.” Juniper Jones was frantic. She grabbed a fistful of her brown hair and pointed at the ends, which were turning white. “I wake up, my hair is like _this,_ and now my eyes-“ She released her hair and pointed at her eyes for emphasis. “-are fucking _purple_!”

            Juniper- she prefers “June”- was standing at the doorstep of a large, mysterious, stone building on Bleeker street, in the heart of the Greenwich Village. In the doorframe stood a tall man with black hair, who was dressed in blue robes that were adorned with brown sashes. On his shoulders sat a deep red cape, with its collar popped up. He rested a hand on his chin, idly stoking his goatee, while he listened to a panicked Juniper yell about the day she’s had.

            “And then- oh my god, you won’t believe- then a _huge laser_ shot out of my hand at work today! It destroyed a wall! And got me fired!” June was using her arms expressively, motioning with and occasionally flailing them.

            “Mhmm…” The man stood rigid and still, like a mountain against June’s storm. He patiently waited for her to finish her story.

            “And all this _shit_ started when this dumb book-“ She raised her right wrist to the man. It had a chain of beads wrapped around it, and connected to the beads was a miniature brown book, no larger than a few inches across. “- came _alive_ and stuck itself to my wrist!”

            “Let me see that.” The man said as he reached out towards the book, and held it in his scarred and trembling hands. When June saw his hands, she wanted to ask what had happened to him, but she bit her tongue. _He probably doesn’t want to talk about it,_ she assumed. He examined the book with a careful blue eye, turning it over slowly and running his fingers over the leather. Upon closer inspection, the book had tiny, green, and faintly glowing runes all over it.

            _This can’t be… can it?_ He thought as he turned the book once more. With great care he reached for small clasp that kept the book closed, and tried to pop it open. It wouldn’t budge. _But it must be it. There’s no other explanation._

“Juniper, please come inside. We need to discuss this book of yours.” He stepped back and turned around with a swish of his cape before heading into the building. June blinked and hesitated- _Should I? What if he’s going to murder me or something?_ She argued the possibilities in her head. _But he’s also the only person who can help me with all of this._ June rolled the dice and decided to head inside.

            For how small the building looked from the outside, the inside was massive. The foyer had solid, dark wooden floors, and a large staircase to an upper level. The man was standing in the center of the room, waiting for June to follow and stand beside him.

            “So… what do I call you?” She asked as she walked up to the stranger.

            “Doctor Stephen Strange, at your service.” He made a quick mock-bow, and looked at June with raised brows. “Hold onto your ass, this is going to get a little weird.”

            “Wait, what?” June barely had time to utter the words before Stephen started making quick hand gestures, ones that June didn’t understand the meaning of. Suddenly, _something_ materialized out of thin air. June gasped audibly as she stared at it- it looked like a large bubble, about 6 feet high, but was made of hundreds of shifting, reflective facets. “Whaaat…” June drawled as she gazed in awe and confusion.

            “That’s not even the best part.” Stephen said with a small smug grin on his face. He was used to getting this kind of reaction from _muggles,_ as he affectionately dubbed them, but it didn’t make it any less satisfying. It felt good, great even, to genuinely amaze and astound someone. “Follow me.” He said as he grabbed June’s arm, leading her towards the bubble.

            “Wait, wait, oh my god, whatareyoudoing-“ Despite her confusion and fear, she didn’t struggle against him as he dragged her into the bubble behind him. Stephen stepped into it, and it swallowed him whole. And June was next. “Holy shit, holy shit!” June wheezed before she was pulled into the strange bubble.

            She stumbled a bit upon entry, but she was otherwise fine. Stephen was standing calmly as ever, while a scared June looked around with wide eyes.

            “What did you do?!” She exclaimed as she looked around. She could see through the bubble, out into the foyer of the building, but those ever shifting fractals made a barrier between her and the outside world.

            “I put you in the mirror dimension. I know it’s a lot to take in, but trust me, this is the place you need to be.”

            “The _mirror dimension?_ What the hell is that?” She paused and gave her surrounding another look. “And this is where I need to be?! Are you fucking crazy, this is just… unbelievable! Why did you take me here?” June was feeling scared, panicked, and more than a little flustered. Who was this man to just grab her and drag her into this… place? A bit of anger swelled inside of her. She quickly pointed behind her, ready to demand that he take her back, when a huge beam of yellow light shot out of her hand with tremendous force. June yelled and stumbled from the kickback, and Stephen took a step back, his eyes wide.

            “Wow. That was impressive- it takes years to be able to harness energy like that and use it for combat purposes…” Stephen put his hand on his chin. His suspicions were getting closer and closer to being confirmed.

            “Impressive? I could have killed some-“ June turned around to look at the damage she caused, and her jaw dropped. There was no damage. Although it was a little hard to tell through the distortion of the moving facets, but from what she could see, there wasn’t a picture out of place. “What? How?” June whipped back around to face Stephen, who had a smug grin on his face.

            “That’s the power of the mirror dimension. What happens in here doesn’t affect the outside reality. This is a safe space used for practicing various spells and magics.” Strange explained, stepping forward a bit.

            “Wait, magic?” All this information was getting to be too much. Now Stephen was implying magic was real on top of everything else?

            “What else do you think that beam was?” He gave her a small smirk. Seeing people struggle with the concept reminded him of his early days as a sorcerer. He too held doubts at the beginning, but the truth was eventually revealed to him. Now it was his turn to share the truth with June.

            “I don’t know!” June put her hands on the top of her head and turned back around, once again looking at the spot where she fired her beam – her _magic_ beam. “I thought magic was just in fairy tales and stuff- how can it be real?”

            “I can’t explain the how, but I can assure you that it’s very real. I’m a sorcerer – a user of this magic.” Stephen reached his hand out to Juniper. “And you could be too. The book you’ve found has given you incredible powers. You need to learn how to control them, before you kill somebody.” After seeing the power that the book had given this girl first hand, there was no doubt about what the book was. It had to be the book of the Vishanti. The book was literally the stuff of legends- it’s the link between the mortal world, and the all-powerful trio of gods known as the Vishanti. The book hasn’t shown up in recorded history in over 100 years, some people said it didn’t even exist anymore, but yet… here it was.

            Since June had somehow managed to find this book, Stephen’s hand was forced. If she didn’t receive training, or at least guidance, about her new powers and how to live with them, she would be extremely dangerous. The book had given her limiteless magical potential, but without learning how to harness it, she would be a beacon for any and all magical monsters in this dimension – she might as well have a sign that says “Attack me!” on her back. Monsters were drawn to sources of magical energy, and June had somehow made herself the largest source for it in 1000 miles. She needed training. She needed protection. And it looked like Stephen was going to be the man to give it to her.

            “Learn? To do magic?” June’s brows furrowed in confusion. “Like, seriously?”

            Stephen nodded. “Seriously. If you don’t, you’re going to be in danger. Monsters from all over will be drawn to you- you need to learn how to defend yourself.”

            “Monsters?” Her face went a little pale. “So those exist now too?” Although to be fair, after learning that real magic exists in this world, monsters weren’t that big of a revelation. The more she thought about it, the less it surprised her. She knew of Thor, an Asgardian hero, and his thunder-hammer. _I guess that’s magic…_ She then thought of the aliens that had attacked New York several years ago. _If aliens are real, monsters wouldn’t be that far of a stretch…_ The pieces were fitting into place within June’s mind. She was still a little overwhelmed from her new knowledge, but digesting the information became easier as she mulled over it.

Then there was the obvious dilemma here: this man, Stephen, had offered to teach her how to be a sorcerer. To help her control her new magic. She needed help, but she was also apprehensive. He was still a stranger to her, and she hadn’t neglected the thought of him having a darker ulterior motive. But if she didn’t get help, she would eventually kill somebody. These powers were something she couldn’t possibly hope to tame on her own.

“Okay, so what if I say yes? Are you going to teach me how to use this?” June motioned to the book strapped to her wrist.

            “I can do my best. The book of the Vishanti- your book- is a bit of an enigma. But I _can_ teach you how to harness the magical energy it puts off. How to control it.“ A moment of silence passed between them, and June appeared to be deep in thought, weighing her options. She really didn’t have a choice. Her back was against a wall here. After a long moment of contemplative silence, she looked up at Stephen, her violet eyes hard with determination.

            “Fine, where do we start?”


	2. Magic Man

October 29th, 2019

The noises of Manhattan never seemed to permeate the walls of the Sanctum Sanctorum. As a result, most times the Sanctum was deathly quiet. Doctor Stephen Strange liked it that way, however. It allowed for him to study and practice his magic in peace, as well as meditate, which he found himself doing quite frequently.

In his study, which was filled with bookshelves all cramped around a large desk, Stephen was meditating while sitting with his legs crossed and floating about a foot off the ground. His breaths were slow and focused as he searched within his own mind to unlock deeper secrets about his sorcery. Plus, it also gave him a nice time to sit and relax, but that’s beside the point.

He took another breath and changed his hand position, feeling the energy of the multiverse flowing around him. The universe wasn’t a dead thing, it was very much alive. It lived and breathed and expanded, and Stephen could feel it in all its glory. It was awe inspiring. He let himself get swept up in the feeling, riding the natural high that connecting to the ley lines- the network of magical veins in the world- and the universe gave him. He was at peace, he was-

_Wait. What is that sound?_

Suddenly he snapped back to his reality, his connection to the universe severed due to the lapse in concentration. With a sigh, he lowered himself back onto the ground to investigate. The noise sounded far off, but loud enough for him to hear it- which meant it was coming from inside the sanctum. It sounded like someone talking, but the rhythm was a bit different. Getting up with a groan, Stephen stood up once more and quickly stretched his back, which started to hurt the longer he meditated.

Now the search was on. Since it was coming from within the walls of the Sanctum, Stephen had a primary suspect for who was making all that noise. He walked out of his office and down the stairs, into a large display room for various magical artifacts. The ceilings were high and the floor was made of wood, giving the room the look of a museum. Each artifact was on a pedestal or in a glass case, arranged in neat rows that filled the room. The noise was a bit louder now, and Stephen followed the source, heading out of the display room and into the small library.

“A pretty man came to me,

Never seen eyes so blue.

I could not run away, it seemed,

We’d seen each other in a dream…”

Strange identified the song immediately – _Magic Man, Heart, 1975._ Melodic and romantic, the singing filled the air with its tune – which was exactly the problem Strange had with it. He couldn’t see who was singing, but from the voice he knew exactly who it was. Stephen walked down the aisles of bookshelves, scanning each one, until he found the singer: Juniper.

 She was putting a book back on the shelf, the tome dusty and old. Suppressing a grumble, Stephen marched over to her and tapped her on the shoulder, causing her to jump with a yelp. She whipped around and looked at him, ripping her earbuds out of her ears as she did.

“Strange! You scared me!” She gave her master a quick, light shove in return for scaring her like that. Stephen reached out an arm and pushed her back in kind.

“Your singing can be heard through the whole Sanctum, June. Knock it off or tone it down.” Stephen told his student, crossing his arms across his chest. The apprentice smiled sheepishly, her violet eyes squinting a bit with the smile.

“Ah, sorry. I didn’t know I was being that loud.” She reached down pulled her phone out of her pocket, and tapped the screen, pausing the tune. Strange looked down at her, his brows raised.

“It’s fine. Did you sort all those books I asked you to?” That’s why June was in the library in the first place – she was supposed to be shelving some new books into their proper place. She had over 40 books to sort, and Stephen was surprised that she had gotten done so quick. He’d have to look it over later and make sure she did it right, he decided.

The girl nodded, the silver tips of her hair catching the low light. “Yep. Every single one. I still can’t believe you’ve made me do this again- this is the third time this week! You know I hate this stuff. My talents could be better used elsewhere.” At this, Stephen rolled his eyes. June had been pestering him for weeks about advancing her training, but he wasn’t going to do it. He wasn’t sure what he was going to teach her next- spellshields aren’t tough enough to challenge her, and astral projection was a little above her level. Messing up on that could kill her, so Stephen decided it was best to hold that lesson off for a while. The current thing he was hoping to impart on her was patience, which although he didn’t have much himself, June was exceedingly lacking in that department.

“That may be true, but this is still something you have to do. Every apprentice has to do stuff like this for their masters, why are you any different?” He challenged, already knowing the answer.

“Because other students aren’t chosen by the Vishanti to hold their power!” June was quick to interject. “Come on, let me get back out in the courtyard and we can spar.” While Stephen would normally jump at the opportunity to stretch is muscles and test June’s progress, but by indulging her love of physical activity, he was rewarding her – even though she hadn’t learned the lesson that she was supposed to. With a sigh, he shook his head.

“Sorry June, but I’ve got to get back to meditating. Maybe we can spar later. Just please don’t sing so loud, okay? You’re going to crack the windows if you get any louder.” June rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

“Fine. What do you want me to do while you’re meditating, oh wise-and-mighty task master?” She teased. Deep down, June knew that Stephen was just trying to treat her like a normal student, and not let her power go to her head. Keeping her humble with all these menial tasks. She didn’t resent him for it, although it was hard not to sometimes.

Stephen shifted his weight onto one leg and pursed his lips in thought, looking over to the side for a moment. “Well, I don’t really need you to do anything.” He said after a second. “You can head home for the day, if you want.”

June’s brows rose. “You’re letting me go? This early? Who are you, and what did you do to my Strange?” She gave him a light, playful punch on the arm. Stephen rolled his eyes again and smiled at her.

“Get out of here, before I change my mind.” At this, June bowed quickly before turning around and grabbing her sling ring- a two-finger ring that allowed one to open portals to another place- and drew a small circle with her ringless hand. About a foot in front of her, a circle or orange sparks appeared. It sizzled, throwing off warm sparks, and then it expanded. Inside of the circle, an image of June’s living room appeared. June turned and gave Stephen a final smile and wave before jumping into the circle, into her living room. The room had green walls and brown furniture spread around it, and smelled delicious- _Is mom cooking?_ June thought. She turned around and closed the portal with a wave of her hand, and a strange feeling of sadness swept over her. She loved being at the Sanctum, with Strange. It felt like that was her normal life, the one she should be living. And at home, she felt out of place, like she didn’t belong there.

“Mom! April! I’m home!” June called as she ventured further into the house, ready to resume her home life.

<…>

Stephen watched June leave with a small amount of sorrow in his heart. He hated to admit it- and he would never say this to Juniper, ever- but he was a bit lonely without her. Sure, he had the Cloak of Levitation for company, but the relic couldn’t possibly compare to having an actual human around. Strange walked around the now empty halls of the Sanctum, letting the echo of his footsteps fill the air. He missed his days at Kamar-Taj with Wong and the other students, life seemed simpler then. Now he was tasked with keeping an entire Sanctum, one of the three buildings creating a protective magical barrier around the world, safe and maintained.

The stairs to the upper level of the Sanctum, which housed several rooms, studies, and Stephen’s office, were made from beautiful and polished mahogany. At their peak rested a large circular window, with the symbol of the Sanctum decorating the large pane of glass. The symbol was a small set of sweeping lines within a circle, and it was that exact magical symbol that gave the New York portion of the magical shield its power. The frosted window let in a large amount of natural light, and Stephen closed his eyes as he got to the top of the stairs, letting its warmth settle over him. He bathed in it, letting the heat reach the very core of his being. _This is why I’m alive,_ he concluded. _So I can still experience things like this._

Suddenly, Stephen yelled as an unknown force shoved him. Red fabric wrapped around him in an instant and squeezed him tightly, and Strange rolled his eyes.

“Cloak, I told you not to surprise me like that.” He said as he tried to pull the magical fabric off him. The Cloak of Levitation released him and gently floated off to the side, it’s collar tilted inquisitively.

“Yes, she’s gone.” Stephen told the Cloak. The Cloak got jealous easily, and was extremely possessive – Strange giving his attention to Juniper caused it to react aggressively towards her, and become what Strange could only describe as “pouty.” The Cloak swished in the air happily, and then flew up and found it’s home on Stephen’s shoulders.

Stephen considered the magical Cloak as a friend and powerful ally. For being nothing more than an enchanted red cape, it was bursting with personality. He often wondered why the Cloak chose him to be its user – it hadn’t selected someone to wield it for many, many years – and still couldn’t come up with an answer. Perhaps it was because Stephen was fighting for his life when he first met the Cloak? It was during his battle with a renegade sorcerer, Kaecilius, that the Cloak came to his aid. Maybe the Cloak sensed the strength of his magical abilities? Maybe it just chose him randomly. Stephen would probably never find an answer to that question, unless he figured out a way to make the Cloak talk. Which was highly unlikely, but not outside the realm of possibility.

Regardless, now that June was gone, Stephen had the quiet that he needed to meditate. He needed to focus on the present, instead of dwelling on the past. He looked down at his scarred and lightly trembling hands, and rubbed them together gently. He couldn’t let his past consume him – he let that happen once, and it nearly killed him. The depression he felt after ruining his hands was enough to send him jumping from a rooftop. There was nothing else left for him in that life, until he found his way to Kamar-Taj. There are other ways to make a life worthwhile, and Stephen had found a new purpose in defending the Earth from magical threats.

With a dramatic swish of his Cloak, Stephen turned and walked off to his office to continue meditating. This time he wouldn’t be interrupted, and he intended to use this time wisely.

<…>

“So how was your day today, Juni?” May Jones asked her daughter while they sat at the dinner table. May was 48, with brown hair and energetic green eyes that still sparkled with hidden youth. Her resemblance to June was uncanny, a trait that she shared with her other daughter, April Jones.

Juniper took a small bite of the baked chicken breast, and swallowed quickly before speaking. “It was okay. Strange had me sorting out library books again instead of doing drills with me.” She rested her chin on her hand lazily before speaking again. “It’s like he’s purposefully stopping me from training more. ‘Train your mind instead of your body,’ or something like that.”

“Well honey,” May said between bites of chicken. “I’m sure he has a good explanation. There’s a reason he’s your teacher.”

“Master.” June corrected.

“That’s kinky.” April commented while looking down at her phone, her chicken barely touched. May simply rolled her eyes, used to her daughter’s comments, while Juniper gave her younger sister a dirty glare.

“It’s not like that. Calling your teacher a master is an ancient tradition among sorcerers. Besides, he is a master of both magic and the New York sanctum, so that _is_ his official title.” June explained, feeling her cheeks get a little hot at April’s implications. Although June would be lying if she hadn’t had similar thoughts before. To her, calling someone master was inherently a little sexual.

“Uh-huh. I’m sure he gets off on you calling him that.” April said with her traditional deadpan snark, looking at June instead of her phone. She brushed some of her straight, brown hair out of her face.

“You’re impossible.” June groaned, burying her face in her hands to hide her blush. The thought of Stephen getting off was something she could have happily spent her whole life without thinking of.

“You _do_ like him though, right?” May asked, eyeing her daughter with a bit of a smug grin. Dealing with crushes wasn’t something new to May. Ever since June was a tween, she’s had to help her daughter with advice on boys and dating. 16 years later, and June still didn’t know how to deal with having a crush.

“That’s nasty!” June said into her hands, continuing to cover her face. “He’s my _teacher-_ “

“Master.” April cut in.

“Fine, he’s my _master._ Being with him would be wildly inappropriate, and probably mess with my training. Besides, I think there’s rules forbidding student-master relationships anyway.” June wanted this conversation to be done, but her family seemed intent on grilling her and making June as embarrassed as physically possible.

“That doesn’t mean you can’t like him.” May teased. “You should bring him over sometime. If this doctor is as handsome as you say, I’d certainly like to meet him.”

“Are you implying that you’d like a chance to hit on Stephen?” June wrinkled her nose a bit.

May laughed. “No, I’ll leave that to you. But I would legitimately like to meet the man who’s teaching my girl how to be a superhero. He seems like a nice guy. I mean, he did save the world and all a few years back. It’s the least I could do to thank him.” She grinned at her daughter, finding her show of discomfort a little amusing.

June took another bite of her chicken and washed it down with some water, desperately wishing for the subject to be changed. “I’m not going to hit on him. And what do you want me to do, invite him for dinner? I think going up and saying ‘Hey, you should meet my family’ would be more than a little weird.”

May’s eyes lit up. “Dinner- what a wonderful idea! You should invite him to dinner!” May loved having dinner guests and having the chance to display her cooking skills. She was a talented cook, but the gene seemed to have skipped a generation because both of her daughters were terrible at it.

At the suggestion, June nearly choked on her chicken - much to the delight of her sister, who laughed loudly.

“Absolutely not!” Juniper wheezed between coughs. “You’ve gotta be kidding me!”

“Haha, you nearly died!” April’s laugh quieted down, but she was still giggling a bit. June shot her a mean glare in return.

“I hope you nearly die one day so I can laugh at your ass.” She said as she gave her sister a light shove.

“Girls. Don’t talk like that.” May was the only reason order was maintained in the Jones household, and she had to keep a tight grip on her girls to prevent snarky comments becoming full-blown fights. The girls went back to their chicken, and a moment of silence passed.

“So April, how did your furry convention go?” June asked, breaking the silence with a smirk. She knew all about her sister’s secret obsession with those weird human-animal things. April was strictly forbidden from going to the local convention, but went anyway under the guise of staying over at a friend’s house.

“I’ll see you in hell.” April hissed.


	3. Fox on the Run

November 2nd, 2019

Getting company at the Sanctum wasn’t a common occurrence, but it did happen every now and then. But some company was better than others.

Master Araav, a large, older black man with white hair and bright purple robes, was standing in the display room, inspecting each artifact with a critical eye and an occasional “Hmmm.” Stephen was standing at the entrance to the display room, preferring to keep his distance while Araav wasted his time.  

The master and council member showed up completely unannounced, and wouldn’t tell Strange why he was there. He interrupted Stephen’s workout routine, and it put him in a weird situation. He was only in a black t-shirt and some sweatpants instead of his standard blue robes, and felt underdressed for his surprise meeting with a _council member._ He should be dressed in sorcerer garb, have Cloak on his shoulders, and not be a sweaty mess. Keeping one’s mind sharp was only half of being a sorcerer – one also needed the physical constitution to handle casting spells. This meant that sorcerers had to be fit and exercise regularly.

A visit from a council member was a big deal, and usually meant that you were in trouble for something. Stephen hadn’t done anything explicitly wrong, except… Was he allowed to have an apprentice? Especially one who wasn’t formally trained at Kamar-Taj like the other students? Strange didn’t know the formalities of taking on an apprentice, and he never intended to take one on. June just sort of… evolved into the role. Was he supposed to stick to a lesson plan, or an approved curriculum? Questions were running through his mind, and he was silently praying that none of them would have to be answered. Araav would eventually leave, and if he didn’t learn about June, well…  What he doesn’t know can’t hurt him, right?

“So, Araav… Are you going to actually talk with me, or are you here just to check on the artifacts?” Sass might not be the best option here, but it was just too natural for Stephen. Back when he was a neurosurgeon, he could sass and talk down to whomever he liked – he was king of his world. But now his big mouth often got him in trouble with the other masters.

Araav turned to face Stephen slowly. “I’ve been asked to visit this sanctum and see how you are doing as its master.” His voice was deep and booming, the kind that immediately made people take notice of his words. “Are you keeping up with your duties?”

“Of course. This place is almost always empty, there’s not much to do most days. I make the occasional house call, however, and help the people of Manhattan with more… supernatural problems.” Things like possessions, magical parasites, and the occasional other-dimensional monster on the loose made up the common work week for Strange.

“I see.” Araav said with a nod. “Have you adjusted well to your new responsibilities? Was the transition into a master of a sanctum hard for you?”

“Uhh, yeah. It’s been fine. Great, actually.” Why was he asking Stephen these weird questions? Did the council think he couldn’t handle this? He felt a little offended – he did save the entire world, running a sanctum was a piece of cake compared to that.  Was the council unconfident in his abilities? Strange scoffed mentally. _I’d like to see one of them do this job._

Araav raised his brows and resumed looking at the artifacts around the room, particularly the enchanted goblet of Tull – a golden goblet that spit fireballs. It was a fun artifact to use in combat, but in unpracticed hands it was quite dangerous.

“Very well. If you have any questions, or need assistance, there’s no shame in asking-“

“I’ll pass. Running this place is outrageously easy – I thought it would at least challenge me.” He cut off Araav, getting a bit angry and sharp in tone. So, the council was doubting his abilities. Rage reared its head, and Stephen struggled to push it down. He was one of the best sorcerers that Kamar-Taj had ever seen, conquering every challenge put before him. He became a master of a Sanctum after just two short years of studying, which was faster than anyone else in recorded history. And not to mention that he saved the entire world from being consumed by the Dark Dimension and defeated Dormammu’s zealots. Was that not enough for the council? He had to prove himself to them somehow further? _Bullshit._ Strange cursed in his mind.

“Is there anything else you needed, or are you here just to check up on me?” Strange asked, growing a little impatient. Araav raised his rows at Stephen, noting his disrespectful tone, but chose not to address it.

“I suppose there is nothing else to discuss. I’ll be on-“ The unmistakable  _swoosh_ of a portal opening stopped Araav in the middle of the sentence. He looked over at the foyer of the building, which was connected to the display room, and saw the portal in question.

 _For Christ’s sake, Juniper! Now is not the time!_ Stephen had to struggle to control his facial expression, trying his best not to show his “oh shit” face. His hands clenched into fists, and Stephen used the pain from his crippled hands as a distraction for the frustration burning inside of him.

Araav watched as a young woman stepped out of the portal. She appeared to be in her mid-twenties, with brown hair that had silver streaks running through it. She had on black legging and red apprentice robes, immediately giving her position away. _Is this… Strange’s apprentice?_ Araav wondered. His instinct told him that it was, but he didn’t want to make any assumptions.

“Oh, um… hey.” June squeaked nervously as she approached both her master and the tall, intimidating stranger. When she got closer, Araav noticed a small coil of rosary wrapped around her wrist, and dangling from it was a miniature book. The book gave off an incredible and powerful aura, and Araav immediately knew it was a dangerous magical artifact. He sifted through his memory to see if he could identify the book, but none quite matched the description… except one. _It couldn’t be. The book of the Vishanti has been lost for decades._  His eyes widened a bit with disbelief, and several questions ran through his mind. Was this Strange’s apprentice, and if so, why did he keep her a secret from the council? And how did a mere apprentice sorcerer end up with the book of the Vishanti?

“Hello little one. And you are…?” Araav probed with a raised brow. June smoothed out a wrinkle in her robes nervously, waiting a few moments to speak.

“Ah, yeah. I’m Juniper. Nice to meet you.” She stuck out a fingerless-gloved hand to shake. Araav met it confidently, with a strong grip that left June’s hand a bit sore.

“Nice to meet you. I’m master Araav, one of the councilmembers.” He introduced himself. June passed a quick look to Stephen, who pinched the bridge of his nose.

“So I guess the cat’s out of the bag.” Stephen groaned. He brought his hand back from his face and looked between Araav and June. “Juniper is my apprentice.” Stephen couldn’t help but feel like he was taking the sorcerer-equivalent to political suicide. He was pretty sure that having a secret apprentice was against the rules, and that he would soon have to face the wrath of the council.

“I see…” Araav turned to Strange. “How long has she been studying under you?”

“A year.” Stephen’s reply was curt.

“And why did you neglect to send her to Kamar-Taj, so she could be with the rest of the students?”

“Because she’s not like them.” Strange motioned to June, specifically the book of the Vishanti. “The power June holds is unbelievable. She needed a fast curriculum to help tame her powers as soon as possible. She was a danger to herself and other people.”

“You were keeping me a secret?” June asked, butting into the conversation.

Strange ran his scarred hands through his hair and groaned. He wasn’t prepared for this interrogation, and frustration was nipping at the corners of his mind. He struggled to hold his tongue and not lash out at the two.

“Yes, I was keeping you a secret. It’s just… easier that way. The council has all these rules, and you’d be forced to stay at Kamar-Taj like all the other students. Then I wouldn’t have been able to keep as close of an eye on you. We don’t know what that book is capable of! Until then, you’re _very_ dangerous, and you need to not be around the other students!” Stephen didn’t mean to raise his voice, but he couldn’t hold back his anger any longer. All his decisions were being challenged, and it was infuriating him. The thought of the council finding out about June honestly _scared_ him. He would never admit it, but he was terrified about what they might do to her. Were they going to take her away and make her stay at Kamar-Taj? Would they try to rip the book away from her, and potentially hurt or even kill her in the process? The book of the Vishanti had never been successfully removed from a host before, and Strange had no idea what that would to her. Or worse, would they make her walk away from all this? Unleashing June out onto the world wasn’t the wisest idea, and although she had a good handle on her powers, there was no telling how they would develop over time. She might become dangerous again.

Araav’s eyes narrowed as he looked at June, then Strange. “You know I will have no choice but to report this to the council.” If the news of Stephen’s apprentice surprised him, he didn’t show it.

Stephen sighed, looking a little defeated. “I know…” His mind was racing, trying to find a way to make sure the council didn’t take June away. Maybe he could move her away from the sanctum, and discontinue their lessons for a while- _No. If the council decides to take her, there’s nothing I can do._ He was worried, but he couldn’t let that consume him. Maybe there was still a way out of this.

“Master Araav, what’s going to happen to me?” June asked. She was scared too, unsure of her immediate future.

Araav looked at her, and a moment of silence passed before he spoke. “Several different things could happen, Juniper. The council could decide to make you stay at Kamar-Taj, where you will train with other students and masters. Or maybe nothing will happen, and you will get to resume your learning under doctor Strange. I can’t speak for the council, and I can’t tell you how they might vote.”

“So it’s up in the air, then?” June frowned and looked down for a moment. “You can’t make me go.” She said in a hushed tone.

“Excuse me, little one?” Araav couldn’t quite hear her, but he had an idea of what she said. If she refused to go, this would complicate things. It was a good thing Araav was a patient man, otherwise he would have found his temper flared by June’s open defiance.

“I said I’m not going.” She looked up at the master, her eyes hard and her voice loud. “No matter what the council decides. I can’t go.”

“June, don’t. You’re going to make this much worse for you, don’t do this.” Stephen’s voice was soft, betraying his worry for her. Araav simply rested a hand on his chin and raised his brows, mildly amused by June’s defiant attitude. It seemed like she wasn’t someone who obeyed the rules. _She’s much like Strange in that way… maybe he is the best master for her right now._ If she was relocated to Kamar-Taj, she would most likely cause a great deal of trouble for the masters there.  

“I will make sure the council understands your wishes, but I can’t guarantee they will abide by it.” Araav crossed his arms and looked towards Strange. “I assume you don’t want her to go, either?”

“Of course not. I remember what it was like at Kamar-Taj. The other students will just be holding her back, and that’s not something she needs if she’s going to learn how to use the book of the Vishanti.” After saying that last sentence, Stephen paused. Should he have openly admitted that June was wielding the book of the Vishanti?

“So it _is_ the book of the Vishanti, then?” Araav was a bit surprised that the book had resurfaced again after all this time, but he didn’t let it show. His face was as still and calm as ever. He looked towards June. “How did you end up with one of the most powerful magical artifacts in existance?” This was a story that Araav needed to hear. From what he knew of the book, he understood that the book always had a host. The host was the only person who could use the book’s power. Perhaps the story of how she had gotten her hands on the book would give Araav some insight about why the book chose this small woman to be its host.

June passed a questioning look to Stephen, who nodded. It was too late to be keeping secrets from the council, and telling the story of how she got the book wouldn’t change anything. “I found it when I was out with my sister.” June began. “We went into this weird occult shop that April- my sister- wanted to see. That’s where I found the book.”

“I see. What happened after you found the book?” Araav had a hard time believing that June just simply stumbled onto the book – the previous hosts had always encountered it in a dramatic way. But he didn’t voice his doubts.

“It just sprouted this chain of beads and jumped at me. It attached to my wrist, and nobody could get it off.” June rubbed her wrist as she recited the story, remembering how painful it was to get a stand of beads slapped at her. “That’s why I came here in the first place. The shopkeeper told me that Stephen helped with a cursed rug his friend bought, and that maybe he could help me with this possesed book.”

“And that’s when you decided to train her, Stephen?” Araav asked, his lips pursed as he digested this information.

“Yes. That’s how this began. If I didn’t start teaching her, she was going to kill somebody.” Stephen crossed his arms defensively. “I didn’t have much of a choice.” Stephen didn’t show it, but he was nervous. Araav was so cool and collected, it was hard to read his emotions. It made him a little difficult to deal with. The man in question simply nodded and closed his eyes for a moment, going over all this information.

“I see. I need to report this to the council, and they will vote on June’s fate.” He grabbed his sling ring from off his sash, and placed it on his left hand. “In the meantime, I suggest packing your things, Juniper. You will need to be ready to move if the council demands it.” He gave a quick bow to Stephen and a quick nod to Juniper before walking away from the two, into the foyer. June and Stephen watched him leave with baited breath. The tension in the air felt like it was choking June, as if it was filling up her throat. With a wave of his hand, Araav opened a sling portal that led to Kamar-Taj and stepped through it. It closed with a hiss, leaving the Sanctum deathly quiet once more.

June and Stephen stood frozen, the only noise the sound of their breathing. After about 30 seconds, June finally broke the commanding silence.

“I’m not going. I don’t care what they say.” June’s mind was made up. She couldn’t just leave her family behind like that, and to leave Stephen on top of everything else? Unthinkable. She imagined herself at Kamar-Taj, surrounded by students who still needed their magical training wheels. June wasn’t like them, and sitting through slow, dull lessons wasn’t her style. She needed action, excitement, and a quick pace when it came to learning. Stephen really was her ideal teacher – though she would never admit that to his face. _His ego’s big enough already._ She thought to herself.

“You can’t really defy the council, June. They’re the only governance that sorcerers have. It’s… important to listen to them.”

“I don’t care. They can’t make me go to Kamar-Taj. I want to stay here, with my family.” _And with you._ She silently added. “Besides, when has Stephen Strange ever listened to the rules? We can keep doing this, and they can’t stop us.” June looked at him and smiled with a devious glint in her eye. She usually wasn’t too much of a rulebreaker, but now was an exception. _The rules are stupid._ She decided.

Stephen half-smirked a second. “Hey. Do as I say, not as I do.” He said, crossing his arms. “We are in serious trouble though.” Stephen had been so caught up with the thought of June’s consequences that he neglected to think of his own. Could they revoke his master title and give the Sanctum to someone else? He hadn’t thought of that. _I can probably kiss the Eye of Agamotto goodbye._ There would be no way the council would just let Strange take the Eye anymore, maybe unless it was an emergency. _I really liked casting with it, too…_

“Fine, let them think we’re troublemakers. Let them come and try and stop me from doing this.” June said proudly. “The Vishanti chose me to be their hero, and that’s what I’m gonna do. I’m going to be a hero and learn how to use this book, whether they like it or not.”

“I admire your dedication, but maybe you should just… lay low for a few days, until the council reaches a verdict.” Stephen frowned, he knew she would be disappointed from those words. But he didn’t want to start a new lesson, just for her to be taken away in the middle of it. And June really needed to calm down and really _think_ about this situation, instead of charging in with nothing more than a gut instinct and a prayer.

“Can’t you say something to them? To make them realize that taking me away would be a huge mistake?” June looked at Stephen, a plea in her eyes. She didn’t want to leave – she _couldn’t_ leave. But the thought of the council coming over and forcing her to leave scared her. There would be nothing she could do if a few masters came to the Sanctum and literally carried her back to Kamar-Taj. Fighting off one master would be a struggle, but several? Out the question.

“You think I want them to take you away? I’d talk to them if it did any good. I’m in trouble here too, they’re not going to let me into a council meeting to explain myself.” Strange ran one of his hands through his hair. “I want to tell you that they won’t take you away. But I also don’t want to lie to you, June.” Stephen took a step back and sighed. “We’re in deep.”

“You got that right.” June let out a long sigh and fiddled with her book a bit, turning it over between her fingers. “I just feel… helpless right now.” She looked down at her feet and pursed her lips. Stephen’s eyes softened – he hated feeling helpless, and sympathized with her. He didn’t want to say it, but he felt helpless too. _Maybe_ he could get a chance to explain himself to the council, but that chance was slim. _Still, it’s better than doing nothing._ He concluded. He looked back over to June, who seemed to be staring off into space.

“Hey. I know what will make you feel better.” He said, getting her attention.

“What?” She turned to face him.

“We can go out back and test out your weapon conjuring.”

June couldn’t hold back her smile. She’d been bugging Strange to teach her how to conjure up the “fun” weapons, like swords and bows, instead of standard discs and whips. “Alright.” She knew Stephen was just trying to distract her, but hey, it was working.

Stephen gave a small smile before turning around and walking out into the display room again, heading towards the back of the room. “You coming?” He asked when he noticed June didn’t immediately follow him. She was staring off into space a bit, contemplating her fate.

“Ah, yeah.” Juniper walked off to follow Strange out into the courtyard, desperately hoping that the drills would make her feel better.


	4. Separate Ways

November 5th, 2019

“Are we ready to begin with this week’s meeting?” Araav’s voice boomed in the room, the noise echoing off the hard surfaces and making him sound much louder than he intended to be. He stood at the head of a large oval table made of polished wood. The four other sorcerers in the room nodded their heads and some murmured “Yes” and “Sure.” Araav sat down at his chair, which was tall and made of a dark, thick wood. “Very well, let the meeting of the council commence.”

“So, master Shane, has your class passed the physical assessment we assigned to you?” Master Deyman spoke first, like always. He was huge, both muscular and tall. He had pale skin and a buzzed head of blonde hair, and usually wore a set of red robes. Deyman had doubted that master Shane would push his students to their limits, like he should be doing. He saw Shane as a bit of a coward, though he didn’t voice his opinion on the American man.

Master Shane nodded, his messy black hair swaying with the movement. “Yes, all but two. They have been dealt with accordingly.” Shane’s reply was a little cold- he disliked Dayman as much as Deyman disliked him. The two often got into fights, but Shane was determined not to have one today. _Today has been a good day – I’ll be damned if Deyman’s going to ruin it,_ he thought.

“I’ve taken on three more students; my class was a little small anyway.” Master Haukea spoke up, her voice high and friendly. She was Hawaiian woman, with dark hair and skin. She was what most people would consider to be ”chubby” and was dressed in flowing light blue robes. “They’re a little behind the rest of the class, but I’m sure they’ll catch up.”

“Who’s class did you take them from?” Asked master Bao, who adjusted his wheelchair a bit while he was speaking. Bao had been crippled from an accident that he had as a young man, and he came to Kamar-Taj to heal himself. Ultimately he decided to stay there, and not to restore his legs. He was the youngest out of the group, at the ripe age of 33. “I bet you took them out of Harmir’s.”

“I _did_ take them out of Harmir’s! How’d you know?” Haukea laughed. “They came to me and asked to be transferred, so that’s what I did. They’re sweet kids.”

Deyman raised a brow. “Did you even ask Harmir before taking his students, or did you just take them without asking?” There was a hint of venom behind his tone.

“So what if I did?” Haukea looked at Dayman with a smirk, proud of herself. “They wanted to transfer, so I took them in. I didn’t know I needed to ask Harmir for permission first.” She said that last sentence with a good amount snark and a cheeky grin. It was fun to get Deyman riled up, and Haukea was going to enjoy every second of it.

“Typical!” Deyman scoffed. “That’s just like you, to take something without asking.”

“Enough _._ ” Araav’s tone was stern, and his command brought the conversation to a halt. “Try to control yourselves. This is a civil meeting.” He clenched his fists and passed a warning glare to Deyman, reminding him to control the temper that he was notorious for.

“Sorry, Araav.” Heukea spoke softly. She wanted to stay on Araav’s good side – the man secretly terrified her.

“Besides, I have a pressing issue that I’d like to discuss.” He looked to the 4 council members present, each of whom were staring at him, waiting for Araav to finish. “You’re aware of Stephen Strange, correct? We discussed him at our last meeting.”

Bao spoke up first. “Did you check on him? How did he measure up to your expectations?” He looked around, then whispered so that Araav could barely hear him. “Do you still think he’s the one?”

“I do, but a… complication arose while I was visiting him the other day.” Araav linked his hands together and rested them on the table. “Master Strange has been harboring a secret apprentice.”

“A secret apprentice? Who?” Heukea spoke up first.

“For how long?” Shane interjected.

“Her name is Juniper, and he’s been training her for a year.” Araav explained calmly.

“A year? How can you think he’s _the one_ when he’s been hiding some apprentice under our noses this whole time?” Deyman was quick to interrupt with his trademark outrage. He was always one for the rules and honor, and in his mind, breaking the sacred rules of the sorcerers was the ultimate sin.  “If he kept this a secret, what else is he hiding from us?”

“I’m sure Strange has his reasons-“ Bao started, but was interrupted by Deyman.

“He still lied to us about it! How can we trust him with those responsibilities when he goes behind our backs like this?” After this question, the conversation turned into all four masters bickering and explaining amongst themselves, while Araav sat calmly.

“Strange did explain himself. There’s more – Juniper has somehow obtained the book of the Vishanti. “ The room went quiet, and all four masters stared at Araav with wide eyes.

“You’re joking.” Shane said first. “There’s no way.”

“The book has been lost for over a century, what makes you think it’s shown up again?” Heukea leaned forward when she spoke, looking directly at Araav.

“It is the book. Of that, I have no doubt.” Araav began. “I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it for myself. Stephen’s apprentice, this Juniper, is the new host for the book.”

“That does complicate things…” Bao put his hand on his chin and digested the information.

“You said Stephen had his reasons, I assume those involve the book?” Shane leaned forward a bit as he spoke, passing looks to his fellow sorcerers. Araav nodded.

“Yes. Stephen claims that Juniper was dangerous when she came to him- unable to control the books powers. He insists that she would be a danger to the other students, and that’s why he kept her away from Kamar-Taj. He also brought up that we don’t know how deep her power reaches, and that he’s the only teacher who could handle her abilities.”

“Pompous ass.” Deyman growled. In his eyes, Stephen was a man who bucked the system, took what he wanted, and expected to be placed on a pedestal for it. _He thinks he’s above the rules – that he’s better than anybody else._ Stephen clearly didn’t have any faith in the other masters, which only proved that Deyman was right.

“I’m with Deyman on this one. Stephen obviously thinks that the masters here aren’t up to the task, which is arrogant and disrespectful.” Shane couldn’t help but be a little offended by Strange’s line of thinking – there were sorcerers who had been here long before he has, they could probably handle something like the book of the Vishanti. His thinking was dangerous and conceited, and could end up in disaster. If this woman didn’t get the training she needed, there was no telling what kind of damage she could cause. And in the heart of New York, no less! At least Kamar-Taj is remote, and if she lost control here, there wouldn’t be civilian casualties.

“I think Stephen was right to make that call.” Haukea crossed her arms, ready to get into an argument for her opinion. “He didn’t want to endanger anybody but himself. And I’m sure he could give her a much better education with one-on-one tutelage. Being in a class would probably just hold her back.”

“That was Strange’s thoughts as well.” Araav commented.

“Well, he had a decent point. If she needed to be trained quickly, which was probably the case if she was dangerous, then Strange certainly was the man for the job. Putting her in a class would be a mistake - we don’t know how well she could control her powers. I don’t want the death of some students on our hands just because we didn’t want to expedite her training.” Bao spoke up after careful deliberation. Stephen was a little cocky and a bit of a drama queen, but he knew what he was doing. If he thought that training this woman all by herself was the best call, Bao would support him on it.

“There’s still no reason to keep her hidden from us, and for so long!” Deyman slammed his massive fist down onto the table, cutting the conversation to a halt. “He needs to be punished for keeping secrets!”

“What would you suggest his punishment be?” Araav raised a brow.

“Strip him of his master title! He apparently can’t be trusted with it.” Deyman abhorred seeing Stephen get away with things, and getting special treatment. He vowed that Strange would get his recompense for this transgression.

“Isn’t that a little extreme?” Haukea argued. This might not have been Stephen’s brightest decision, but she understood why he did it. Punishment might be necessary, but stripping him of his master title? That was just uncalled for in her eyes.

“Well, what do _you_ want to do? Just give a slap on the wrist and let him be on his merry way? No, we’ve allowed Stephen to get away with too much. He rarely attends master’s meetings, doesn’t teach a class here, and he doesn’t understand the responsibility of running a sanctum! This woman could have destroyed it, and then what? Earth’s defenses would be crippled!” Deyman was getting frustrated by the weak will of Haukea and Bao. If they had it their way, Stephen would be on the council and allowed to do whatever he saw fit.

“But don’t you think taking away his title is a little much? I mean, what did he really do wrong? He trained a girl who needed his help!” Haukea was getting dangerously close to raising her voice.

Shane, who had been silent for a while, turned to look at Araav. “What are your thoughts on this, Araav? You’ve been quiet.”

Araav let out a small ‘hmph.’ “I haven’t quite made my decision yet. Stephen’s need for secrecy is concerning, to say the least. But after seeing the book in person, I understand why he did it. Imagine the complications it would cause if we revealed the book of the Vishanti’s return to the wrong people.” He remained as rigid as ever, sitting perfectly straight up.

“Let’s be honest here- if Stephen brought Juniper before us, what would we have done with her?” Bao cut in, wanting to be heard.

“We’d put her in a class, like she belongs.” Hissed Deyman. He saw what Bao was getting at, and it only served to enrage him. He was making it sound like they were in the wrong for wanting to do the _right_ thing!

“See what I mean? That’s why Strange kept her a secret. If he didn’t, this woman wouldn’t get the training she desperately needed. Instead she’d be stuck in a beginner class, not knowing how to wield her potentially limitless power – how does that not sound dangerous to you?” Bao was used to Deyman being a stubborn ass, but the act had overstayed his welcome. The burly Russian man had to start seeing reason.

“Can we go ahead and vote, instead of arguing like this?” Shane wasn’t one for conflict like this, and he wanted to put the issue to rest. There were other things he wanted to discuss at this meeting, but this was going to take up all of their time if they just kept arguing about it.

“So, we’ll vote on if Strange gets to keep his apprentice.” Araav said with a small nod.

“But what about his punishment?” Deyman whipped his head to look dead into Araav’s eyes. “He needs to be stripped of his master title, and the sanctum given to someone else.”

“Or, we could force him to actually start keeping up with life at Kamar-Taj.” Bao suggested.

“I’d be okay with that, as long as he gave us regular reports on his apprentice. Her progress would be a good metric for seeing how Strange does as a teacher and a leader- something we need to consider, if we think he’s the one.” Shane thought his compromise was fair.

“Strange is absolutely not the one.” Deyman growled.

“I’d argue otherwise. I think we should make the decision official soon.” The dark-skinned woman shifted her weight in her chair – the solid cedar wasn’t very comfortable. “If Stephen does well with training Juniper, then I say we’ve found the man for the job.”

“It would be a suitable test for his abilities. If he’s the one, he’s going to need to know how to teach.” Bao linked his hands together. “This will really show if we’ve made the right decision.”

“You’re making a huge mistake.” Deyman’s eyes narrowed. Thinking Strange was _the one_ was ridiculous. There were plenty of other masters who were qualified for the job, so why pick this inexperienced pup?

“Fine, who would you suggest is the one then?” Haukea shot at Deyman, her voice cold. She was tired of Deyman’s constant belittlement of Strange. His prejudices were getting in the way of him seeing the truth – that Stephen was really the one.

“How about literally any other master?” Deyman glared at Haukea. The two never got along, but today she was being especially difficult. Deyman had half a mind to challenge her to a duel, to shut her up once and for all.

“Enough, Deyman. The majority has spoken.” Araav narrowed his eyes at the man, telling him to stand down. Deyman huffed and leaned back in his seat with a grumble. He considered himself as someone who didn’t take orders- but he respected Araav too much to fight him on this. _This is how the council works._ He had to remind himself, gritting his teeth as he did so.

“It’s time to start the vote. Should master Strange keep his apprentice? Shane, you first.” Araav nodded to the man on his left. Shane usually started the vote, and it went clockwise around the table, landing on himself last.

“Against.” Shane said with a nod. “She needs to be in a class, where we can watch her.”

“For.” It was Bao’s turn now, and he didn’t hesitate to voice his opinion. “Stephen made the right call.”

“For.” Haukea said with a small smile. She was fond of Stephen, and she knew that he wouldn’t have done something if it wasn’t right. Besides, she found the concept of a secret apprentice a romantic one- she was eager to see how it progressed.

“Against.” Deyman said, to nobody’s surprise. “Strange went behind all of our backs, and needs to be punished for it.”

That left Araav as the tiebreaker. The four sorcerers looked to him, eyes wide with anticipation. Seconds stretched into moments as Araav sat with his eyes closed, debating with himself. The council was anxious, each one sitting at the edge of their seat- Bao notwithstanding. After what felt like an eternity, Araav finally spoke.

“For.” He decided.  There was a hushed “Yes!” from Haukea, but he paid it no mind. “It is decided. Strange will keep his apprentice, but under council supervision. We will use her progress as a metric for his own.”

“And if he’s ready?” Shane asked. Araav paused for a moment, then spoke very carefully.

“Then Stephen Strange will be the next Sorcerer Supreme.”


	5. Africa

November 5th, 2019

When you’re about to lose someone close to you, it opens to door for a lot of introspection. June was laying on her bed, staring up at the white ceiling, and contemplating what losing Stephen meant for her.

 _I won’t be with him anymore..._ The thought almost broke her heart. Over the year that they had known each other, Stephen had become an integral part of June’s life. It was hard not to grow close to someone when you saw them almost daily. She considered Stephen her best friend, someone who she could tell anything. The thought of Stephen being ripped out of her life left a deep ache in her chest – who could fill the void that Stephen would leave? _Nobody. There’s no one else quite like Stephen Strange._ She rolled onto her side and stared at the blue walls of her room, glancing over all the music and movie posters that hung there. _Who else will I share all this with?_ Her eyes wandered over to her guitar, which was propped up on a stand. Music was a hobby they both shared, and she would often play for Stephen. She felt a little sorrow in doing so- he used to be able to play piano, but couldn’t anymore. She didn’t want him to feel jealous of her.

A knock at her door made June jump. “June, honey?” May’s voice floated through the door. June sat up, stretched quickly, and made her way to the door. When she opened it, she saw her mother standing there, holding a large basket of laundry. “You left these in the dryer.” She explained.

“Thanks, Mom.” June took the basket and managed to give her mother a small smile before going to lay the basket down on her bed.

“So, you’re still upset about the council thing, huh?” May could always see through June, much to her daughter’s chagrin. May chalked it up to her ‘mom sense,’ and always tried to do her best to understand her daughter’s emotions and struggles.

“Yeah. It’s just bullshit.” June started as she began to idly fold her laundry. “They can’t _make_ me go, but I just know they’re going to try anyway.” May leaned against Juniper’s doorway, listening to her daughter. It was a mother’s duty to help their babies through hard times, and May wasn’t going to leave her daughter to deal with this by herself.

“And what about your training? How will that be affected?” May knew her daughter took great pride in being a superhero-in-training. It made up part of her identity, it was who she was. Taking that away from her would be like taking away her ability to play music or to crochet. June let out a sigh and shook her head as she folded one of her shirts.

“If I go to Kamar-Taj, I can continue my training, but it’ll be so different. I’ll be in a class, held back by their slow teaching.” She sat the shirt down and picked up another one, repeating the process. “If I don’t go, they’ll still probably forbid Stephen from teaching me anymore.” Losing not only her best friend, but a large part of her daily routine was going to be devastating. The council had the power to dramatically alter her life, and June hated it. She felt so helpless- she wasn’t in control of this situation at all. Instead, she was left to dangle by a thread, at the mercy of the council.

“So, either way, you won’t be able to see him anymore?” May knew that her daughter was fond of her master – in more ways than one. Taking Stephen out of her life would be like abandoning a best friend or a boyfriend, and that’s something she never wanted June to go through. June shook her head, moving onto a pair of pants.

“Probably not. Which really bites.” Her heart hurt. She was helpless, in pain, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

“Well, you could always go to the council and beat them all up.” May suggested. June let out a laugh.

“Yeah, that’ll show ‘em. I’ll just kick their asses and they’ll let me stay.” June rolled her eyes and smiled. The thought of her bursting into the council chambers and opening a can of whoop-ass on them was just too funny to her. Realistically the council would annihilate her, but June was allowed to have her power fantasies.

“And then Stephen would jump into your arms, and you’d run away together.” May added, grinning wildly.

“Oh yes, I can see it now.” June made her voice as deep as she could to impersonate a man. “’Oh June, you destroyed the only form of government in the sorcerer world! Let’s elope in Tahiti!’” She could barely keep from laughing, meanwhile May was in stitches at June’s terrible impression of Stephen.

“I pray to god that he doesn’t sound like that! I’d never be able to take him seriously!” She wheezed, making June stick her tongue out at her mother.

“I tried my best! Man-voice is hard!” June laughed. May wiped a tear out of her eye and grinned at her daughter.

“Hey, you know what we should do tonight?”

“What?”

“Let’s go see a movie, as a family. April wants to see that new one about the possessed doll.” April adored horror movies, and so did May. June, on the other hand, was a “huge pussy,” as April described it. June wrinkled her nose at the suggestion, getting a chuckle out of May.

“Come on, it’ll be fun! I’ll get you some of those gummy candies you like.” May tried to tempt her daughter into going. If there was one thing June couldn’t resist, it was free food.

“Fine, I’ll go. Only because you said you’d get me gummies.” June pointed at her mom accusingly, passing her a quick wink. “When’s the show time?”

“There’s a 7:40 that we can make.” At this, June looked over to her alarm clock, which rested on her nightstand. The red letters read 6:53, which left plenty of time to finish putting away laundry and to get ready. June was a bit of a “hot mess,” as she’d put it. She was dressed in a pair of shorts that had cartoon characters all over them and an oversized t-shirt that she had managed to get hair dye all over a few years ago. Not to mention that her hair was misbehaving, with strands sticking out every which way from frizz. She was not ready to be seen in public.

“That works. Go tell April - you might actually get her to act excited for once.” June teased as she finished folding her laundry. May smiled at her daughter before leaving the doorway and heading down the hall to April’s room.

 

<…>

 

If Stephen said he wasn’t worried, he’d by lying through his teeth. His footsteps echoed off the linoleum titles of his kitchen floor as he paced around. He wandered into the living room of his apartment, the grey carpet muffling the noise of his bare feet. To his left, ceiling high windows let in the warm light from the sunset, bathing the white walls in an orange glow. Tomorrow was _the day_. The council was going to inform him of their decision. Maybe he was going to lose his position as master of the New York sanctum. Or worse, June might be ripped out of his life.

If the council voted to have her stay at Kamar-Taj, then she would have to either go, or walk away from being a sorcerer. His heart ached to see one of his best friends go, but if the council voted that way, he would do his best to convince her to go. June needed training to control whatever new powers the book might give her, and if he couldn’t teach her, Kamar-Taj was her best bet.

Stephen wanted to be selfish. He wanted to stop her from going, to keep her all to himself. He’d lost so many friends during his transition into being a sorcerer, the thought of losing yet another one was killing him. Strange never wanted to admit it, but he was a lonely man before June stepped into his life. Sure he had Wong and some of the other masters at Kamar-Taj, but their relationship was more professional than personal. Karl Mordo was his best friend during his training to be a sorcerer, but he stepped away from the Order shortly after Strange had defeated Dormammu. Even since then, Strange had saw himself as a loner, preferring to bury himself into his work.

Then Juniper came into his life, and he remembered how wonderful it was to have a friend. Someone you could share your dreams and hobbies with, someone who was always there for you – that’s what it meant to have a friend. Stephen didn’t want to go back to having every day be lonesome in the Sanctum.

 _Please, please let them see reason._ Stephen silently pleaded to the universe. He wasn’t a religious man, but every now and then, it felt good to call into the void. The council hung over him like a weight, pressing him down at every step. Yes, he had broken the rules. But not without good reason. For whatever punishment they decided, he hoped that they took it out on him, and not June. She was an innocent in all this, and had no idea what was going on. If they had any ounce of justice, the council would see that.

Stephen looked out his windows and noticed some grey clouds forming on the horizon. _Snow tonight. Ugh._ Stephen was grateful that he wasn’t required to drive in that weather. One of the perks of being a sorcerer is that you didn’t really have to drive anywhere, thanks to the sling rings. Ever since his wreck, driving was something Stephen actively avoided – it hurt his hands to hold onto the steering wheel, and it only brought up bad memories. The thought of his wreck often haunted him, occasionally manifesting itself as flashbacks and night terrors. He looked down and rubbed his hands gently, turning them over and examining the scars. Despite all the pain and heartache that wreck had caused him, it was still one of the greatest things that ever happened to him. Without that wreck, he would have never become a sorcerer. He never would have learned the humility and gratitude that he desperately needed. The world would have ended if he hadn’t gotten into that wreck. _I would have never met June._

At that thought, he paused. What did June mean to him? She was important to him, of course, but _why?_ Stephen closed his eyes and contemplated. Why was he so attached to her? He sifted through is memories of her, remembering her wide eyes, her smile, her scent, how gentle her hands were on his. He had to admit, she was radiant and full of life. Her smile tended to be contagious, and she always seemed to bring a little happiness with her wherever she went. He would miss her, desperately. _You don’t know how much you need someone until they’re taken away._ With a sigh, he opened his eyes and walked over to the futon that acted as his couch. He flopped onto it and rubbed his eyes with a groan. _Stop being so negative_. There was a possibility that life could continue as normal, and regardless of how slim that chance was, he had to hold onto it.

 _I should remind her about tomorrow._ Stephen reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. The man didn’t use it very often, and hardly ever texted. But reaching out to June magically would have taken more energy than he could spare at the moment. With shaking fingers, he pulled up the messaging app and clicked on June’s name.

 _‘Hey, remember to be at the Sanctum early tomorrow, around 7. The council’s going to meet with us and give their verdict.’_ He paused for a moment before adding _‘Wishing for the best.’_ Typing wasn’t a painful activity for him anymore, but the shaking of his hands made it difficult. After hitting send, he minimized the app and looked at the clock in the top right corner of the phone. 8:38. There was no way June would be asleep, and she was usually really fast at replying. Hearing from her would do him some good. _Hey, even if the council forbids me from seeing her, they can’t stop me from texting her._ He smirked. It always felt good to buck the council’s authority. Although it was that attitude that often got him in trouble.

The silence of his apartment was starting to bother him. Stephen looked at the side table, and noticed the tv remote. He didn’t watch much tv these days, but the background noise would be appreciated. Using a bit of magic, he made the remote float over to him, and he grabbed it out of the air. He flipped it on, and casually started scrolling through channels. Surely there had to be something on that could occupy him for a few hours. His phone beeped, and Stephen quickly grabbed it to check it. He frowned as he read the notification – just one of his apps requesting an update. With a groan, he laid it back down and tried to focus his attention on the tv.

<…>

A beep from the phone jolted Stephen out of his sleep. He blinked his eyes, being a little confused and a little disoriented. He was still in his living room, his tv droning on in the background. He rubbed his face and sat up, concluding that he must have fallen asleep watching the television. It’s not something that he did often. His phone beeped again, and Stephen reached over quickly to check it, hoping that June had finally replied to him.

There were two messages from June. _‘Hey, sorry was in a movie with the family. I’ll be sure to be there, are we going to Kamar-Taj? I’d normally be excited, just wish it was under better circumstances.’ ‘Also do you want some leftover candy from Halloween? Can’t eat it all by myself.’_ Stephen smiled at the last one. There were times that the formalities of being student and master were dissolved, and the two could just be friends. It was a nice, warm feeling. He texted her back quickly, not wanting to leave her waiting.

 _‘Please bring the candy. I don’t need it, but I want it. And don’t worry about tomorrow. Whatever happens, we’ll make it through it. ‘_ He hit the send button a little harder than he needed to. Texting still felt so bizzare to him since his accident, but it was the easiest way to talk to June that didn’t involve some form of telepathy spell.  He shivered a bit at the thought – he didn’t want to be in June’s mind anymore than he wanted her to be in his. _There are just some things better left private._ Stephen suddenly saw 3 little bubbles appear on his screen, indicating that Juniper was texting him back. _She’s much faster at this than I am,_ he thought with a small frown. He hoped that she didn’t grow bored with texting him – having this human contact was easily being the highlight of his evening. The thought of stopping disappointed him.

_‘It’s much easier to say ‘don’t worry’ than actually doing it. Doubt I’m going to sleep tonight, too much on my mind with all of this. The more I think about it, the more nervous I get.  And the candy is the good stuff – Snickers, Reeses Cups, and some Hershey bars.’_

_‘Then we won’t talk about it anymore. Excited about the candy, cheating on my diet is always fun. You mentioned a movie – was it good?’_ He sent the text, hoping that having some regular conversation would do June good. She needed to get her mind off of tomorrow, and he hoped that chatting casually might do the trick.

_‘Meh. It was that one horror movie with the doll – ‘Belle from Hell’ or something. Mostly went for the candy and popcorn. Horror flicks are not my thing.’_

_‘So I’ll take that as a no for a slasher-flick marathon, then? Didn’t know you didn’t like horror movies.’_

_‘That’ll be a hard pass for that marathon. I’ll watch them if I have to, but I’d really rather watch anything else. A little miffed we didn’t see that new James Bond movie – this is the second time in a row that April picked. I hear it’s good, too.’_

Stephen paused, his fingers hovering over the screen. _Do I do it? What if she takes it badly?_ His stomach churned as he contemplated the possibilities of her rejecting him. _It might make her feel better. Just do it._ Steeling his resolve, Stephen took a deep breath and started typing.

 _‘We should go see that after all this blows over.’_ After hitting send, he immediately regretted his choice. Would she see it as a date? That wasn’t his intention – although it might be hard to convince her of that fact. He ran a hand through his hair and hoped for the best, trying to ignore the hammering in his chest. Those bubbles popped up again as June typed, and Strange froze.

 _‘Sounds like a plan! You’re buying the popcorn. ;P’_ Relief swept over him, and he let go of the breath he was holding. She didn’t reject him, and she agreed to actually go out and do something with him. Stephen hadn’t been out in a long while – a side effect of not having anybody to do things with. He had something to look forward to, and that thought gave him some hope for the future. Maybe he wasn’t as socially inept as he was led to believe. But these plans were extremely conditional; depending on the council’s decision, they might not have the opportunity to see that movie. _I just have to hold onto the hope that they’re not going to be assholes about this._

June going to Kamar-Taj just wasn’t an option at this point. She would have to not only give up Stephen, but her family as well. Students at Kamar-Taj are forced into isolation for the betterment of their studies – only text based communications would be allowed. The masters believed that it allowed more time to devote oneself to their practice, and it reduced the chances of a fledgling sorcerer accidentally maiming someone with their new, usually uncontrollable, abilities. Stephen saw the reasonings behind it, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. He remembered how lonely he was when he was studying at Kamar-Taj, how he wanted nothing more than to visit Christine again. Not that his old flame would have wanted to see him, but that was beside the point.

 _Christine._ The name used to bring nothing but heartbreak to him, but now it just brought him a sense of… contentedness? Strange wasn’t really sure. He loved her at one point in time, but he was too arrogant and self-centered to be the man that she deserved. Of course, she left him – looking back on it, Stephen was surprised that it didn’t end sooner. Then he was hung up on her for two years, wallowing in his own heartbreak as he tried to become a better man. Then, when he saw her again… she had moved on. And Stephen was happy for her. It took time for Stephen to do the same, but he eventually did. Christine deserved a man who would have time for her, and Stephen usually didn’t have enough of that to go around. He was proud of her for being strong and bettering herself, but that also meant that she didn’t have time in her life for him anymore. It hurt, but Stephen understood. Besides, she would never truly understand the world of sorcery. She would always be an outsider, always be a stranger to that world.

 _But June isn’t,_ his darkest thoughts hissed. Stephen shook his head to clear the thought, upset with himself. June was beautiful and lovely, he had to admit, but he couldn’t allow himself to see her as any more than a student and a friend. Being with her would be… inappropriate. Scandalous. _Enticing._ Stephen stood up with a groan, disgusted with himself. _Stop this!,_ he growled mentally. He rested his hands on his head and paced around the room a bit, trying to distract himself. There were apparently some _needs_ that he had to take care of. _I’d probably have a clearer head and be less… pent up._ His phone beeped again, ripping him out of his thoughts. Grateful for the distraction, he grabbed it and read the displayed message.

 _‘You there? Thinking of calling it a night.’_ Stephen read, mentally hearing June say the words.

 _‘Sorry, it’s been a long night. Trying not to pass out. Going to bed – goodnight!’_ Stephen disliked telling her a white lie – he was certainly going to be up for a long while- but it’s not like he could explain his intentions to June without being disgusting. _Oh yeah, going to jerk off like a madman and then go to bed. Talk to you later!_ Stephen rolled his eyes at the thought, and laid his phone down on the wooden side table. He stretched his back with a yawn, then decided to head into the bedroom, vowing that he’d have a clearer head tomorrow.


	6. I Wish

November 6th 2019

June felt like she was going to throw up. Today was _the day._ She was at Kamar-Taj, which normally would have been exciting for her – she’d never seen it, after all. The sight of it all astonished her, and she wished that she could have had time to soak it all in. Instead, her and Stephen were ushered into the council chambers by some masters, presumably to wait for the council members to come and pass judgement upon them.

For something so sacred as the council chamber, June thought it was awfully plain. Dark wood made up the floors and extended a bit up the walls, stopping about a fourth of the way up. Windows let in the cold morning light, illuminating the room with a pale glow. What they didn’t tell you about Kamar-Taj was that there were no glass windows, the only “windows” were what amounted to decorative holes in the walls with some wooden designs supporting the hole. It wasn’t terribly cold in the room, but it was just chilly enough to be uncomfortable. On the walls were wooden hooks that were meant for sconces to hang from. June took notice of the high ceilings in the room, eyeing the simple pattern made of squares that could be found there.

She paced around the large room, making laps around the circular table. Stephen was sitting in one of the wooden chairs, wrapped up in a hoodie to keep the chill out. June was dressed similarly, with a red zipped-up jacket.

“You’re going to make a rut in the floor.” Stephen almost groaned. He’d been watching June pace around that table for about a half hour now, and it was driving him crazy. He rested his head on his hand and idly tapped the hard wood table with the other one.

“Sorry, I just can’t sit still when I’m this anxious.” She explained. Coming to a stop, she pulled out the chair across from Stephen and sat down. “What’s taking them so long? Making us wait like this is borderline sadistic.”

Stephen nodded in agreement. “There must be a problem somewhere, which might mean that we could be here for a while.”

June leaned her head back and let out a loud, dramatic groan before leaning back in the chair and sliding down a little bit. _Still need to work on that patience._ Stephen mentally remarked.

“They could have at least put a tv in here or something.” She complained, looking around the dull room. She had left her phone at home, thinking this visit was going to be quick. _I guess they’re just trying to keep us in suspense._ She concluded. “Sooo…. Want to talk about something?”

Strange raised a brow. “Like what?”

Juniper shrugged her shoulders. “Anything’s fine with me.”

“You pick.” Stephen wanted to talk, sure. But there were just too many thoughts and worries buzzing around in his head to pick a decent topic.

“Hmmm…” June paused, thinking of a question. “Ideal vacation?”

Stephen rested his hand against his chin, contemplating the answer. “I’m not sure. Somewhere warm, for sure. I’m thinking of a beach, too. Just somewhere that would let me forget all my troubles.” He had a vague idea of where this place was; Tikehau Island, maybe Puerto Rico, or even Hawaii. Somewhere that he’d never been to before.

“If you want to forget your troubles, they make alcohol for that.” June teased. Stephen laughed, the sound familiar and pleasing to her.

“I said I just wanted to forget my troubles, not the whole evening. There’s really not an in-between with that.”

“Lightweight.” She said with a wink. June didn’t consider herself much of a drinker – she didn’t do it often – but she held her liquor well. She often chalked it up to her strong German heritage and family history of alcoholism.

“You’re the lightweight!” Stephen sarcastically shot back, the accusation baseless. He’d never seen June drink before, but he also couldn’t let that comment go without a rebuttal.

“Scathing.” She chuckled.

“Hey, cut me some slack. I’m off my game today.” He said with a grin. It was true, the thought of the impending discussion filled his heart with stress, and that didn’t make for the best comedic timing or comebacks. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t try.

 “Fair enough. Okay, your turn to ask a question.” This was a game that the two would commonly play when bored or waiting for something, like a potion to brew. They would go back and forth, each one taking a turn answering questions until they either grew bored with it or were done waiting. Stephen enjoyed it, it was a good chance for the two to get to know each other better.

“Fine.” He paused, thinking of a question. “Favorite movie?” Stephen asked, resting his elbows on the hard table.

June let out a laugh. “I can’t answer that one!” She giggled. June loved movies, and asking her to pick a favorite one was borderline impossible. “I’d have to say… Probably _Terminator 2_. That’s my favorite right now, anyway.” Action and science fiction movies were her favorites, and her personal DVD collection was full of them. Stephen nodded when she spoke, silently approving the choice. But now it was June’s turn, and finding a good question to ask wasn’t always easy. So she settled for a mediocre one. “Hmm… okay, if you had to eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?”

Stephen smirked. “Easy. Salad.”

“Salad?” June wrinkled her nose a bit, mildly disappointed with his answer.

“Yeah, hear me out. Anything’s a salad if you chop it up into tiny bits. There’s fruit salad, tuna salad, chicken salad – hell, you could tear pizza up and eat it with a fork and call it pizza salad if you wanted to.”

June nodded. “I see what you’re getting at- damn, that’s a good answer.” She chuckled. “Okay, your turn.”

“Fine, hmm…” Stephen rested his hand on his chin to think, but was interrupted by the door to the council chambers opening. Him and June shot up, standing as quickly as they could, trying their best to show respect for the council.

Bao was the first in the room, with Haukea pushing his wheelchair. Behind her was Shane, then Deyman. Araav was the last to enter the room. These were faces Strange knew well, but to June they were all strangers, except Araav. The stood in a line, each one of them facing the pair.

June wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but this certainly wasn’t it. She was imagining a group of elderly ambiguously-Asian gentlemen, all in flowing robes and with long, white beards and bald heads. The group of people before completely shattered that thought. _I’ve watched too many kung-fu movies,_ June concluded. _They’re messing with my expectations._ The group had five members in it: Araav immediately stuck out to her as the only familiar face, and he was standing by a short, chunky Hawaiian woman. Next to her was a tall- no, _huge_ \- man with pale skin. Just looking at him set off several “Danger!” warnings in June’s head – this man could probably kill her with a snap of his wrist. A white guy with a mop of shaggy, black hair stood next to an Asian man with brown hair and a wheelchair. All of them were dressed in sorcerer garb – June immediately felt underdressed for the occasion- and each member wore a distinctly different color.

“Well, look at you!” Haukea walked up to June, breaking formation. “So you’re what the big fuss is about?” The short Hawaiian woman sounded like a grandmother greeting their grandchild, and June half expected her cheeks to be pinched. Instead, Haukea took both her hands into her own as she looked June up and down. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, child!” She beamed. _I can see why Stephen wanted to keep this one all to himself._ Haukea grinned at her own thoughts.

“Haukea, don’t start.” The huge man with blonde hair growled. June flinched at the sound of his voice. _Don’t fuck with the big one_ , she concluded. Juniper wondered who he was, and why his attitude seemed so sour, but quickly turned her attention back to the woman who was holding her hands.

June looked down at her and awkwardly smiled. “Ah, um, it’s nice to meet you too.” She stammered. Haukea looked pleased with her response, and released her hands. June let out an internal sigh of relief as the woman resumed her place in the lineup. Stephen merely raised his brows at the exchange, used to Haukea’s exuberant ways. June passed him a quick glance, as if to ask what was going on, and he just lightly shrugged his shoulders in response.

“The council is ready to pass judgement.” Araav didn’t raise his voice in the slightest, but it still managed to fill the room with its commanding presence. Everybody seemed to stand up a little straighter when he talked. The air got thick with tension, and all eyes were on Araav. June’s heart was hammering – her fate was about to be determined with these next few words. Stephen was similarly anxious, waiting for his own judgement to be passed. He held on to the sliver of hope that he had, that maybe they wouldn’t take June away after all.

“After much deliberation, the council has passed a verdict.” Araav’s gaze passed to Stephen, then June. A moment of agonizing silence passed, and Juniper felt like her insides were on fire. _Just say it already!_ She mentally hissed, unable to stand the suspence.

“Master Stephen Strange, you will be allowed to continue training miss Juniper.” With those words, Stephen and June let go of the breaths they were holding. Suddenly, all was right with the world. Stephen’s heart felt lighter than air in the moment, like a great weight had been lifted from it. _I can still be with her_. The thought soothed and elated him.

Juniper was experiencing a similar reaction. She stood a little taller, her smile wide as she passed a quick look to Stephen. Stephen smiled back before returning his attention to the council. Despite his joy, he knew that there had to be conditions for this. There was no way Stephen was getting off without any punishment.

“There’s got to be a catch. What are you making me do?” He asked bluntly. Araav looked at him, brows raised slightly. He was used to Stephen’s disrespectful ways, but those moments of brazen attitude still surprised him.

“You’re right Stephen, there is a catch.” It was Shane who spoke up, not Araav. “As a punishment for disregarding our rules, you’re going to involve yourself in Kamar-Taj life again. You’ll be required to report your student’s progress weekly, and attend any meetings among the masters. You will also help supervise any classes that may require your services.” Shane nodded after he spoke.

Stephen was floored. He was getting away with only a slap on the wrist? There had to be a reason for this – the council wasn’t stupid. Maybe they were testing him? Wanting to see how he fared as a teacher? _Maybe they’ll ask me to teach a class soon._ He wasn’t fully opposed to the idea, but it did make him nervous. It was one thing to teach June something, but a full class of 20 students would be a whole different animal.

“But that’s it?” He asked. There was doubt in his voice – that couldn’t really be all, could it? Bao nodded.

“It is, actually. Let this serve as a warning, however. If you do something like this again, your punishment won’t be as light. Don’t cross us again, Stephen.” He warned, adjusting his wheelchair a bit as he spoke. Bao was generally an easy-going guy, but the council couldn’t condone and support Stephen’s backsliding if he did something like this again.

“We will be in touch. Do you two have any other questions for us?” Shane asked. The council had done their business, and it was a waste of time to stay here any longer.

“Uh, I’m good.” June said, her voice wavering a bit.

Stephen shook his head. “I think we can be done here.”

Araav crossed his arms behind his back and nodded. “Very well. You two are dismissed.” He stepped forward and turned around quickly, facing the council members. “And this small meeting has been concluded.” His voice was dry and stoic. The noise of Araav’s boots against the wood floors filled the room as he made his way to the door, not bothering to wait for the rest of the council members. As soon as Araav had left the room and the door had shut behind him, the council seemed to let out a quiet, held breath. Deyman, however, looked just as tense as before.

The mountain of a man passed a quick glare to Stephen before turning to leave the room. He didn’t bother to hide his anger as he left, slamming the door behind him.

“What’s his deal?” June asked in a hushed breath.

“Oh, that’s just Deyman. You learn to ignore him.” Haukea spoke, her voice as cheery as ever. She didn’t let Deyman’s terrible attitude get to her- in her mind, if Deyman bothered her, he won.

“Uh-huh…” June nodded a small bit, a hint of confusion on her face.

“Well, I’m out of here. It was nice to meet you, Juniper.” Bao gave a quick nod to her before looking up at Shane. “You coming with? They’re still serving breakfast in the cafeteria.”

Shane shrugged. “Why not? I could go for some breakfast.” He said as he got behind Bao’s wheelchair and began to push him out of the room. This left only Haukea, Stephen, and Juniper in the room. The dark woman grinned wide at the two.

“Well, I think congratulations are in order!” She beamed.

“I guess you’re right.” Stephen said, shifting his weight to his other leg. He hadn’t fully processed the council’s decision yet, he felt like he was in a dream. His mind was still reeling from his “punishment.” Stephen was astounded – flabbergasted, even – that the council was, in essence, letting him go. He turned to look at June, who still looked a bit shocked. _Guess she hadn’t really processed it either,_ he thought. “So, how do we celebrate? I’ve always considered myself a party man.”

June opened her mouth to speak, but Haukea’s small squeal of delight cut her off. “I’m excited for you guys! Go on, go have fun while you still can!” She looked to June. “Go live your life, so you don’t have any regrets when you’re old like me!” Haukea winked at June before heading towards the door. The whole situation tickled her; the thought of Stephen having a secret apprentice in his life- especially such an attractive one- reminded her of a cheesy romance novel. She loved it. In fact, she just ate it up. Seeing June and Stephen together, especially the looks they would occasionally pass each other, made it obvious to Haukea. _They have to have a thing!_ The thought made her giggle with delight as she left the room, shutting the door behind her. _Such a juicy romance!_ She was a hopeless romantic, for sure, and seeing Stephen – who was usually alone during his days at Kamar-Taj – find someone thrilled her. It made her feel young again, to see such a romance bloom. _They remind me of Raul and I, back when we were young and in love,_ she mused to herself. As she walked away, she hummed a tune that carried memories of years long since passed.

Stephen and June were alone together in the council chambers, and the air between was still. They looked at each other in a moment of silence, violet eyes meeting blue ones. June inhaled, then yelled.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe we did it!” The words all came out in a loud rush, and June clapped her hands together for emphasis and celebration.

“You bet we did! Because we’re untouchable!” Stephen leaned back a bit, his arms out to his sides as he yelled in return.

“Yeah we are!” June raised her hand for a high-five, and Stephen did the same. June excitedly and brought her hand down on his with a satisfying clap, not aware of her own strength.

Stephen flinched and let out a cry of pain and shock, quickly gripping his smacked hand with his free one. “Too hard!” He hissed. His hands were numb in most areas, but in the parts that still had feeling, they were pretty sensitive. This was a fact that June sometimes forgot, much to Stephen’s chagrin. He was glad that she didn’t see his hands as delicate and crippled, but Stephen was sometimes painfully reminded that they actually _were_.

“Ohmygod, I’m so sorry!” June’s words came out in a rush. Her eyes were wide with shock and regret, her hands pulled up over her mouth for a second. “Damnit! I’m so, so sorry Stephen.” Her hand reached out and gently rested on his arm reassuringly. Inside her own mind, she was kicking herself. _Why do I do this?!_ She chastised herself mentally, and hoped that Stephen wasn’t mad at her. Although she couldn’t blame him – this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened, and she assumed that Stephen’s patience with her was wearing thin. Thankfully this was a situation that arose rarely, otherwise June would become afraid to even consider touching his hands. It was deceptive, how he used his hands. He didn’t seem hindered by them, outside of the shaking, and it was easy to forget that they were still so tender.

After a moment, the pain subsided and left behind a small, tingling feeling in his hand. Stephen shook it a bit, occasionally rubbing it gently. “It’s fine.” He sighed. “Just… please be careful? That doesn’t feel good.”  

“I bet… I’m so sorry.” She apologized a third time, remorse in her eyes.

“Hey, it’s fine. I know you didn’t mean it.” Stephen said with a tiny smile pulling at his lips. He couldn’t be mad at her- it was a genuine human mistake. June was excited and in the moment, and during times like that it was probably really easy to forget that high-fives between them had to be gentle. “I forgive you.” He reassured her, and June smiled gently back, although she was still mentally beating herself up over the situation.

A moment of silence stretched between them, and June found herself averting her gaze from Stephen, not wanting to stare. Staring at him was something that June did often, and she prayed that Stephen didn’t notice. He did notice when she did, however, but decided not to bring it up, lest it make the situation awkward.

“So, do you want me to show you around Kamar-Taj while we’re here?” Stephen finally asked. It was pointless to stay in the room, and seeing Kamar-Taj would be a beneficial learning experience for June.

June looked back up and him and grinned, grateful for the subject change. “Sure.” She was relieved that she didn’t have to stay here, but she was curious about it. This is where Stephen, the greatest sorcerer she knew (although it’s not like that title was hotly contested), learned everything he knew about magic – maybe she could learn a little bit here, too.

“Beats standing here, doesn’t it? Let’s get going.” Stephen made his way towards the heavy, wooden double doors that made up the entrance to the council chambers, with June following close behind.

<…>

“Now here’s one of the courtyards. It’s not the main one, but I think it’s the second largest one? There’s multiple.” Stephen said as they overlooked a large stone-floored expanse. Stone statues and hallways of Kamar-Taj framed the area, completely surrounding it. The cold, clean air smelled of rain and trees – a very different experience from the pollution and smells of New York. Stephen and June were standing off to the side of the courtyard, watching two masters train a large batch of students. They would shout some word in a dialect that June didn’t know, and make a new pose all in unison, mimicking their master. Occasionally they would conjure small things, like a rod or a disc in the air in front of them.

“I see. So this is what I’d be doing if the council had voted differently?” She asked, leaning back against the wall behind them. Stephen nodded and crossed his arms.

“I assume so.” He said before turning his attention back to the training students. Together they watched for a few more minutes in silence. Stephen was hoping that June was learning something about sorcerer culture, while June was trying to muster up courage.

_Just ask him already!_ June mentally hissed at herself. Her stomach felt a little uneasy, and her heart was hammering. _This is insane. What if he says no? What if this messes up our relationship?_ A million possibilities were running through June’s mind, all of them negative. _But is this what I want?_ She paused her inner monologue for a moment, doubt swirling inside of her like a stormy sea. It would be easy to just stand here in silence, and not ask him. It would be easier to not put herself out there, to just keep to herself. He can’t reject her if she never asked, right? _But this is what you want. Don’t make a big deal out of it, and he won’t either._ June steeled herself and took a quiet, but deep, breath. _Don’t be a coward. Just do it!_

“Hey Stephen.” The second she opened her mouth, she had to fight the instinct to immediately shut it. To just say “Never mind” and leave it at that was tempting, and her insides were screaming at her to do just that. But it was too late to stop now. _I’ve already committed myself. Just go through with it!_

“Yeah?” Stephen asked, looking towards his apprentice.

“Do you… maybe… wanna come over for dinner tomorrow?” The words came out of June’s mouth too quickly, and she initially worried that he didn’t understand her. Nausea hit her like a wave, the sheer nervousness overpowering her body. But she couldn’t take it back. There was no second tries on this – she had one shot, and she was going for it.

“Dinner?” Stephen asked, a brow raised. “Like, at your place?”

“Yeah.” June breathed. “I don’t want you to feel obligated or anything, but, I mean-“ She stammered a bit, and mentally kicked herself. “My mom wants to meet you, for some reason, and she doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. I also just thought that you might be interested in a dinner that doesn’t involve you sitting alone at your apartment, eating a microwave dinner, or whatever it is you eat.” June couldn’t bring herself to meet his eyes as she spoke, so instead she turned to look at the students again.

_Dinner? What’s her play, here?_ Stephen mulled over the offer for a moment. _Why would she ask me to dinner? And to meet her mother?_ His heart beat a little faster, and he found himself nervous about the situation. _What if it’s a date?_ , his mind hissed. Stephen struggled to push that thought down into the abyss from which it came. _Of course it wouldn’t be a date, she’s not into me like_ that _… Is she?_ He mentally kicked himself for even considering the possibility, but the thought was there. It would provide a reasonable explanation for her asking him to dinner, and she made a convincing argument as to why he should go. Stephen’s nights usually consisted of meditation, studying, and being alone. Actually interacting with other people sounded like a wonderful time. It was a tempting offer… _What do I have to lose? If I say yes, then I get to hang out with June and actually do something with myself for a night. If I reject her, I’ll look like a jerk, and probably hurt her feelings._ At that point, he’d made up his mind. He wanted this.

“Sure.” Stephen said with a polite smile. June looked at him quickly and blinked, her brows raised.

“Wait, really?” She asked.

Stephen nodded. “Yeah. You have a point, I don’t have anything else better to do. And besides, your mother sounds like a sweet lady. I’d hate to disappoint her.”

June’s eyes were wide and her face a little pale. “O-okay then.” She paused and took a breath, considering her next words. “What would you want for dinner? My mom can cook pretty much anything, and April and I will eat anything. So, pick what you want.”

“Oh no, I couldn’t do that.” Stephen didn’t want to be rude and potentially make June and her family prepare and eat a meal they didn’t want to. “You know me, I’ll eat whatever. Just tell your mom to make what she wants.”

“Are you sure? I’m telling you, it’s not going to be any trouble-“

“I promise you, it’s fine.” Stephen cut her off. June blinked, then nodded with a soft smile.

“Fine, but if you don’t like it, you have only yourself to blame.” She teased him. Stephen rolled his eyes.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He finally said after a moment of silence. June smiled at him softly before returning her attention back to the students.

“So, do you think we can try some astral projection soon?” She asked, completely changing the subject. Stephen was a little surprised by her choice. _Maybe she’s nervous and wants to divert attention away from the dinner,_ he thought. _That’s the most rational explanation._ He decided not to push the subject, even though he wanted more details clarified, like what time he needed to be at June’s home. _I’ll just ask her later, it’s not like we won’t be with each other for the rest of the day._

“Not quite yet. But maybe if I ask Wong nicely, he’ll let you borrow the beginner books on it.” He said with a small smirk. June looked back at him, her eyes wide.

“Really? That’d be amazing!” She exclaimed. Stephen looked back at the training students with a smile on his lips.

“That’s a maybe, so don’t get too excited yet. Astral projection is going to take a lot of hard work. Are you sure you’re up for it?”

June grinned at him confidently. “I was born ready.” She proclaimed proudly before looking back at the students. Excitement brewed in her heart, and she was eager for the days to come.


	7. Hooked on a Feeling

November 7th, 2019

_Alright Stephen, just calm down. It’s just a dinner. You can do this._

Stephen was standing in his small bathroom, examining himself in the mirror. He tilted his head to examine his goatee, gently rubbing it with his hand as he did so. Tonight was the night – June was expecting him at dinner, and he had no intentions of backing out on her. That didn’t change the fact that his insides were screaming at him from the sheer anxiety he was experiencing.

_You can do this_! He told himself with false bravado. He had been on more dates than he could count – why was this one making him so nervous? _Maybe because I’m out of practice,_ he thought. He hadn’t been on a date for about 3 and a half years – he was definitely rusty when it came to this.

_It’s not a date._ He hated the fact that he had to remind himself of this fact. Juniper was a _friend,_ not a potential lover. He shook his head to clear the dark thoughts brewing inside it, and grabbed his toothbrush, intent on brushing his teeth.

_She’s just a friend. Don’t assume things. She didn’t intend it like a date, so don’t think of it as one._ He tried to talk himself through his anxiety as he brushed his teeth, but the effects of the mental coaching were miniscule at best. There was still a hot knot in his stomach, and it felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. _At this rate, I’m not going to be able to eat dinner._

After rinsing his mouth, he quickly inspected his teeth in the mirror, making sure he didn’t miss a spot. Personal hygiene was the easy part – finding an outfit would be more difficult.

Stephen looked through his closet, and somehow found a way to hate every article of clothing he had. The advice of ‘clothes make the man’ rang very true with him. Before his accident, he always made sure he was dressed well, attending every social event in expensive clothes that only a man of his wealth could afford. It was a symbol of his superiority, and he used to revel in that feeling.

Thinking back on it all, he felt disgusted. _I was such a terrible person._ He paused, suddenly feeling unsure of himself. _What if I am still a terrible person, and I can’t realize it?_ The thought filled his heart with fear. Sliding back into his old ways and habits was something that he swore he’d never do, but the possibility of doing it unknowingly always existed.

_No,_ he told himself. _I’m not like that anymore._ He had learned to talk himself through moments of doubt, and the technique usually worked remarkably. _Would Juniper be with me if I was truly terrible once more?_ Stephen ran a hand through his ebony hair. _Of course not._ He sighed and turned his attention back to picking an outfit for the night. _Something casual, but not too casual. Buttons, probably. Maybe a collar._ Mulling over the possibilities, Stephen sifted through his closet. As he passed each piece of fabric from one end of his closet to the other, a grey piece caught his eye. It was a simple, yet classy, knit sweater, with some raised threads creating a weaving pattern down the front. _Not too formal, not too casual. This is it._  

He grabbed it out of the closet and laid it out on the bed, giving it a once over. There were no picks, stains, or unseemly lint balls – it was ready for the evening. Stephen finally felt a little better about the situation. With each piece that fell into place, he found his anxiety a bit soothed. _There’s nothing to worry about,_ he reminded himself. _It’s going to work out just fine._

<…>

“Juuuune! Get out of there!” April yelled through the closed bathroom door.

“I’m not done yet!” June yelled in response as she stepped out of the shower with a towel wrapped around her body. “I just got out of the shower! I’ve only been in here for 10 minutes!”

“10 minutes too long! I need in there now!” April banged on the bathroom door with a closed fist.

“Why, so you can practice the dark arts and stop me from getting ready?” June ran a second towel through her hair vigorously, and then stood up and looked at herself in the mirror. Brown and white hair stuck out every which way, reminding her eerily of Beetlejuice.

“Exactly! Besides, I need the mirror to do my mascara!”

June groaned and grabbed the hairbrush from off the sink countertop, and ripped it through her hair with several strong strokes. She winced with every tangle that was pulled out, but it was a necessary evil – it was by far the fastest way to get her hair done. “You have a mirror in your freaking bedroom! Get lost!” She yelled back at her sister.

“But if I do that, it doesn’t disrupt you!” April banged on the door again. “I’ll stand here and bother you the whole time until you give me the bathroom!” June rolled her eyes.

“Why, so you can come in here and use my liquid eyeliner again? Fat chance, turd.” June grumbled as she grabbed her folded clothes from the other side of the countertop. She unfolded the shirt and gave it another look over. She told Stephen the event was casual, and she intended to dress so. _Stephen’s going to over-dress, as usual._ He was the kind of man who believed that looks really mattered and that first impressions needed to be perfect. June didn’t share the sentiment. She didn’t fret about dressing to the occasion that much, and hoped the anyone she met would judge her by her actions, not her dress. The _Led Zepplin_ shirt in her hands attested this this mindset. _Besides, who doesn’t like_ Led Zepplin _?_ June smiled at her thoughts before setting the shirt down and unfolding the rest of her clothes, intent on getting dressed.

“Hey, sharing is caring!” April yelled after a few moments of silence.

“Hah, did it take you a while to think of that one?” June called back, a smug grin on her face.

“Shut up, you ass! Let me in there!” Her sister banged on the door yet again, and June laughed.

“April! Don’t talk to your sister like that!” The muffled voice of May floated up the stairs, just barely audible enough for June to make out the words. June let out an even harder laugh.

“You got in trouble!” June practically wheezed between laughs. If April could have seen June’s smug face, she’d probably be furious.

“I’m going to sacrifice you first.” April growled. This just made June chortle more as she put on her clothes. “If you don’t let me in there, I’m going to tell Stephen that you want him!”

“Fuck off, you wouldn’t dare!” Now April was starting to annoy her. She reached into the cabinet that was under the sink and pulled out a small, zipped up cosmetics bag.

“Watch me!” The reply was quickly shot back. June rolled her eyes.

“Hey, I was cool when you brought Darian over!” When April last brought a boy home, June didn’t do anything to embarrass her sister. She hoped that reminding April of this would appeal to her better nature, but June knew it was a long shot.

“I never promised that I would do the same for you.” April sounded smug and devious, and June groaned.

“You bitch, come on. Don’t do this.”

“Juniper!” May yelled once more from down the stairs. _Curse these paper-thin walls,_  June mentally hissed. April let out a laugh.

“Yeah, you have to be nice to me! I’m you precious baby sister, remember?”

“April, I swear to god, I’m going to send you to another dimension and leave you for dead.” June scowled as she patted makeup onto her face, attempting to even out her skin tone.

“Hey, you’re supposed to be a super hero! You can’t do that!” April replied teasingly.

“Consider this my super villain origin!” June yelled. “God, April, you’re such a brat. Just leave me alone so I can do my makeup!”

“Fine, but if your eyeshadow goes missing, you have only yourself to blame.” April threatened ominously.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Watch me. I want that dark blue you have.”

“I will destroy you, April.”

<…>

Stephen tugged on the collar of his shirt nervously as he waited for June in the foyer of the Sanctum. She agreed to meet him here, and they would sling to her home together – at least, that was the plan. June sometimes liked to completely disregard plans and instructions, preferring to do things her way. _I hope she gets here soon._ His belly felt like it was in knots, and he hated himself for it. _It’s just a dinner, there’s no reason to be this nervous. Get it together!_ Stephen mentally chastised himself, but he still couldn’t shake the feeling that weighed in his belly like a stone.

A loud swish of fabric made Stephen whip his head up, and he saw the Cloak of Levitation eagerly flying towards him. It ran into him with enough force to make Stephen stagger, and it wrapped itself around him tightly like a snake.

“I missed you too.” Stephen coughed out, trying to ignore the Cloak’s tight squeezing. The grip on him loosened, and Stephen sighed with relief as the Cloak gently floated off to the side. It bounced in the air, and he smiled at the enchanted cape with genuine affection. “How do I look?” He asked as he stepped back, showing off his carefully selected outfit. The Cloak merely floated in silence, it’s collar tilted a bit.

“Right.” Stephen said with a small frown. He wished that Cloak could talk – it would at least make their interactions less one-sided. Stephen reached out and gently pet the soft velvet of the Cloak, and it pressed up against his hand. He smiled softly. _It’s kind of like having a puppy sometimes,_ he thought. The cloak had to be entertained and loved, much like a pet.

The trademark sizzling of a sling portal broke through the silence. Near the edge of the room, a circle of orange sparks appeared. It expanded as it swirled and hissed, and Juniper stepped gracefully out of it. Strange blinked as he saw her – her hair was down, a sight he had never seen before. The brown and silver hair flowed around her, and Stephen wondered why she didn’t wear it down more often. _It’s really pretty,_ he thought. She was dressed casually, in tight jeans and a t-shirt with a thick jacket, and he mentally hissed at himself. _I’m overdressed_.

“Hey, Stephen.” June said as she brushed her bangs to the side of her face, a small smile on her lips. She noticed the Cloak, and nodded in its direction. “Cloak.” She greeted simply before walking over to the pair. “It’s nice to see you.”

Cloak floated backwards a bit, putting distance between it and June, and it shuddered a bit. June frowned.

“I don’t bite, you know.” She said, crossing her arms. Cloak quickly flew behind Stephen and peeked out a June a bit, making Stephen roll his eyes.

“Cloak, be nice.” He said. Cloak quickly shook it’s collar from side to side, a clear imitation of a person shaking their head.

“I take that as a no?” June asked with a small smile. She found Cloak amusing, although she wished that it liked her. The cold feelings between the two often caused minor problems, and they could be avoided if the Cloak didn’t resent June. The Clock paused its shaking, and quickly flew away, fluttering as it shot out of the room and up the display room stairs. Stephen chuckled and shook his head.

“You know how Cloak is. Don’t take it personally.” He said with an apologetic smile.

“I try my best not to. I just wish that it would just give me a chance.” June shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.” She looked at Stephen, then the portal, which was still open. “You ready to go?”

Stephen fought a gulp. “Well, as ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Come on, don’t worry about it. My mom doesn’t bite.” She smiled before motioning to him to follow her. Stephen stepped in line behind her without a word, and they walked up to the portal. Inside of it, the image of a brick townhouse appeared, squished between the two buildings on either side of it. “You look nice, by the way.” June said quietly.

The comment caught Stephen a bit off guard. He wasn’t expecting June to comment on his appearance. “Uh… thanks. You too.” He managed to force himself to compliment her – not that the compliment wasn’t genuine. He just found himself flustered and embarrassed at the thought of letting June know that he liked how she looked.

June smiled softly and stepped through the portal. The cold November air stung and nipped at her exposed face, but it wasn’t unbearable. Stephen  was right behind her, and he let out a soft hiss as the cold ate through his meager sweater and undershirt. _Should have brought a coat. Didn’t know we were entering the house the old fashioned way,_ he thought.

“So I assume you remember how to use a door?” June asked with a sly grin and a raised brow. Stephen huffed in response.

“Funny. Of course I know how to use one. Just because I sling everywhere doesn’t mean that I don’t use doors!” He couldn’t help his smile, and to be fair, he deserved it. June only teased him as much as he teased her, which was quite frequently. Juniper grinned back warmly as the two ascended the few steps up to the door.

“Prepare yourself.” She said as she grabbed the doorknob. June turned it and gave it a quick push. The door swung open, and the warm light cut through the night air like a knife.

_Alright, it’s showtime._ Stephen mentally prepared himself for the experience that awaited him inside.

The first thing that hit him was the smell – it was warm, and it was immediately obvious something was being cooked. Stephen couldn’t quite place the smell, but it was honestly mouth-watering. His belly growled a bit, and Stephen was painfully reminded of his decision to skip lunch and work instead.

The room itself was small, but not cramped. The walls were painted cream, and the carpet a shade of brown that screamed “we didn’t pick this color.” A green area rug stuck out against the brown furniture that was pointed to face the tv, and there was a small selection of family photos on every wall.

“We’re here!” June called out.

There was a sudden scuttling noise in the kitchen, like slick shoes trying to grab linoleum tile and the clattering of a pan or two hitting something, and a woman popped into view. She was dressed in various shades of green, and her hair was thrown into a messy bun, not unlike the one that June would occasionally wear.

“Hello!” She nearly yelled in excitement as she approached the pair. “Well look at you! So nicely dressed!” The woman looked Stephen up and down before extending her hand for a shake. Stephen met it with his own hands, hoping that she wouldn’t comment on the compression gloves that he wore, or worse, his hands. There was no mistake: this was absolutely June’s mother. They looked eerily alike – they shared everything from the same hair color to the same nose and brow shape. “I’m May Jones, June’s mom. You must be Stephen Strange.” May grinned widely, and he was a little taken aback. This woman radiated so much life and energy, the waves of her aura were noticeable to him without even entering the astral plane.

“You’d be correct. Doctor Stephen Strange, at your service.” He said with a confident smile which pulled more to the right side of his face. June saw the smile, and she couldn’t hold back her own. She loved that smile – something about it was so genuine, and that made it naturally contagious.

“It’s a pleasure, doctor.” May said with a slight nod. “Well, feel free to make yourself at home – the lasagna won’t take too much longer - it’s got about 8 minutes on it. I’d stay and chat, but I figured I’d start on dishes before we dirtied some more.” May passed a smile to her guest, and then her daughter, and made her way back into the kitchen.

The air between June and Stephen was a little awkward. A moment of silence spread between them, and Stephen pretended to busy himself by examining the room once more.

“So, are we going to just stand here like a pair of jackasses, or do you want to sit down?” June was the first to break the silence, and without waiting for Stephen, she flopped down on her couch. Stephen took the cue and made his way to the recliner that was next to the couch, and sat down in it tentatively. It was soft and a bit worn down from years of repeated use, but it wasn’t uncomfortable.

“It’s, uh… it’s a nice place you have here.” The second the words flew out of Stephen’s mouth, he kicked himself. He had perfected his persona of confidence and aloofness, but the ability to don it abandoned him. He was too nervous, and afraid of being _too_ snarky with June’s family. Upsetting them accidentally, or coming off like an asshole, wouldn’t bode well for his relationship with June.

“Ah, thanks. We’ve been here quite a while – I think 8 years? It was my senior year in high school when we moved here.” June scratched behind her ear and looked off to the side. _How do I kill 8 minutes of time when we’re acting like this?_ She racked her brain for ideas, and quickly found one.

“Alright, question game. You in?” She asked.

“Bring it. You start.” Strange smiled. Playing this game would hopefully ease the tension between them, and start to cut through of the initial awkwardness they were experiencing.

“Okay, fine.” She paused and rested a finger on her chin as she thought. “What’s your honest opinion on lasagna?” June cracked a cheeky grin.

“Ah, testing me to see if I’ll like tonight’s dinner?” He smirked back at her.

“You’re under oath, you can’t lie about it! So spill!” There were only two rules to the question game: 1.) You can’t ask the question you were just asked, and 2.) you couldn’t lie in your answers. While there was nothing preventing Stephen from slipping a white lie into an answer, he never had found the need to. Being honest with June was important to him, and he hoped that she felt the same way.

“I _love_ Italian food.” He raised his brows for emphasis. “Lasagna is no exception.”

“Excellent! I’d feel really bad if you had to eat something you didn’t like here.” June leaned forward and rested her forearms on her knees. “Your turn.”

“Favorite _AC/DC_ song?” Stephen grinned, knowing this question was borderline torture for June. As if on cue, she let out a groan.

“Aaaugh, you know I can’t pick! It’s the same as last time – I’m torn between _Back in Black_ and _Thunderstruck._ ” June answered. She wanted to ask the same question back – Stephen really struck her as a _Shoot to Thrill_ kind of guy – but it was against the sacred rules of the question game. “Alright, here’s one. If you could have any superpower, what would you pick?”

Stephen laughed. “Okay, that’s a good one.” He said with a grin. “I don’t want to pick one that I already have so… maybe super strength?” There was a pause in his words, and he shook his head quickly. “No, no. Is having money a superpower? That’s the one I want.”

“I’ll count it.” June chuckled. “What’s wrong, busting ghosts not paying the bills anymore?” She smirked at him teasingly.

“Hah, good one.” Stephen rolled his eyes, although the smile on his face remained. June usually made jokes about their profession in stride, often calling them “palm-readers,” “party magicians,” and “shrunken-head collectors.”

“Juuuune!” The voice of May cut through the air, making both June and Stephen look towards the kitchen. “Get your sister down here! Dinner’s going to be ready in a few minutes!”

“Alright!” June called back to her mother, getting up off the couch. “I’ll be back. Try not to be intimidated by my sister – she’s a fairly low level demon.” She said with a grin.

“She sounds lovely.” Stephen replied. June made her way up the stairs that started on the left side of the living room, her feet making soft thumping sounds as she ascended quickly.

This left Stephen alone in the living room. He idly twiddled his thumbs, feeling a little out of place. Part of him wanted to go upstairs with June, so he wouldn’t be alone and would have something to do. Being left by his lonesome was making him more nervous than when he came in – he felt he should be doing something. Anything. Stephen stood up out of the chair, with some difficultly as he had sunken into it a bit, and rolled his shoulders. _Just relax¸_ he coached himself. The photos on the wall caught his eye, and he made his way towards them.

Contained within the frames were snapshots of smiling faces and good times. One had May, a young June, and one girl he didn’t recognize – he assumed this to be April, due to her resemblance to the other two – all at the beach. The photo was a little hard to make out due to the harsh sunlight that the photo was taken under, but it was clear enough to understand. It was the three of them grouped together, sitting on their towels and smiling at the camera. Stephen could only imagine what that day had been like for them – with hot sun and the smell of the ocean. In his mind’s eye, he saw a younger May splashing around with her daughters, laughing and having a great time.

It was just like how his mother would take him to the beach. He stiffened at the thought, a little unprepared for the nostalgic sorrow that hit him. His mother used to take him to the beach quite frequently. Most times they would go by themselves, but sometimes a friend of his would come along with them. He sifted through his memories of this time, cherishing each one as it played in his mind’s eye. They were a bit faded, a result of time, but he still remembered the important bits. He saw his other teaching him how to swim, when they built their first sand castle together, and when they would hunt for seashells under the light of the sunset, before heading home. His eyes softened as he continued to look at the picture, lost in his own thoughts. _I miss her so much…_

“Stephen, honey.” May’s voice pulled Stephen out of his contemplation, and he was grateful for the distraction. He turned to face the entrance to the kitchen, and saw May poking out of the doorway. “What would you like to drink?” She asked, a friendly smile on her face. “We’ve got several sodas, some milk, and water.”

“Water will be fine, thank you.” Stephen replied with a small nod. May nodded in return and slipped back into the kitchen. Stephen could hear the opening and subsequent closing of the fridge, and in a second May was back at the door way, a bottle of water in her hand. She held it out to him, and he approached her.

“Here you are, sweetie. Can I get you anything else?” She asked. There was just something about her that made her disarmingly charming – Stephen had a hard time imagining her being mad, or someone being mad at her.

He shook his head. “This is plenty, thank you so much.” He said with a grin.

May smiled back at him, the expression warm and genuine. “Alrighty, just let me or June know if you change your mind.” She ducked back into the kitchen suddenly when a timer went off, filling the air with synthesized beeps. “Finally, I thought this thing would never cook.” May muttered to no one in particular.

More thumping on the stairs – this time it was two sets of feet coming down – made Stephen swivel his head to face the end of the staircase. June came down first, her body loose and relaxed with her movements. Stephen was a little jealous, he envied her ability to relax in this moment. Behind Juniper, there was a younger girl – probably in her late teens, Stephen guessed- with long, straight brown hair and a little too much eyeliner. Her lips were turned in a slight frown.

“Hey.” She greeted with a light tilt of her chin.

“Hey.” Stephen replied, a little unsure how to respond to such a dry greeting.

“Stephen, this is April. April, this is Stephen.” June introduced the pair with a motion of her hand between Stephen and her sister. In response, Stephen stuck out his hand and took a step towards the teenager.

“Nice to meet you.” He said with warmth.

“Don’t make it weird.” April was curt and dry, and it made her a little hard to read. Much like her mother, April seemed to exude an impressive amount of aura, but hers wasn’t warm and golden like May’s. It was more of a dark purple and gave off the same vibe that a rattlesnake does before it bites.

Stephen’s hand dropped to his side and he pursed his lips. “Alright, then…”

“April, be nice. It wouldn’t kill you.” June was visibly annoyed by her sister’s blatant lack of hospitality. April wrinkled her nose in response and narrowed her eyes.

“You don’t know that.” She replied before heading into the kitchen, cutting the conversation short.

“She’s just a doll.” Stephen whispered to June sarcastically. June let out a small chuckle.

“Don’t let her bother you. She’s always this lovely.” June said with an apologetic smile. “So, shall we?” She motioned to the kitchen with a nod of her head.

“Let’s.” Stephen said with a nod, and they both headed into the kitchen. It was small, like the rest of the house, with a tight dining area that had a table which was just barely able to fit. The appliances were old, Stephen noticed, but well maintained. Everything was clean and appeared to be in order, each item in its place. _Could be OCD, or could be just standard guest preparation. Could go either way,_ Stephen thought. On the stove, a lasagna sat inside a glass pan, and next to it was a cookie sheet with a loaf’s worth of toasted garlic bread. The smell was phenomenal, and Stephen could feel his mouth watering. He looked over at the table, intent of putting the water bottle he held down, and noticed drinks were set for 3 out of the 4 seats. _Guess I know where I’m sitting._ It took only a few steps to get to the table, and he sat his bottle down.

There was a clattering of plates, and Stephen turned around to see April and June each holding one. April was using a spatula to get a square of lasagna, and she lifted the saucy mess up and onto her plate. Juniper stood patiently behind her sister, waiting for her turn. _Well, the system’s simple._ He looked to May, who used her hands to motion towards the space behind June, implying he should get in line.

“Oh no, you should go first, Ms. Jones.” He hoped she was a miss, and not a missus – it didn’t look like there was a man in the picture, and she held no wedding band on her hand, but he didn’t want to assume, either. “You made this meal, you should go first.”

May laughed. “Ms. Jones? I haven’t been called that in years. I usually go by Doctor Jones, but that’s really just at work.”

Stephen raised his brows. “You’re a doctor? I didn’t intend any disrespect-“

May raised a hand and smiled at him. “I’m have a D.M.V. It’s not like I went to med school or anything, I only get called ‘doctor’ when I’m at the clinic.” She paused for a moment. “Besides, I don’t feel right taking the title when there is an _actual_ doctor in the room.”

“Ah, well, I’m not really a doctor anymore. I still hold a PhD, sure, but I’m no longer in the practice.” He explained, before looking over his shoulder for a brief second. June and April had sufficiently filled their plates, and had already sat down. Stephen looked at the pan of lasagna and looked to May once more. “And are you sure you don’t want to go first? I feel rude, going before you.”

“Stephen, please, I insist. Get you some food, I’m sure you’re starving. Ideally you would have gotten your food first, but some _manner-less heathens_ came and cut in line.” She passed a look to her daughters, her eyes narrowed a bit.

“Hey, you snooze, you lose.” June replied before taking a sip of her water.

Stephen rolled his eyes and looked at May. “Pay it no mind. I know better than to get between June and some food.” He said with a grin. Stephen grabbed a plate from the small stack that had been set out on the counter, and approached the food. His stomach panged with hunger, and the sight of the food made it only worse. The lasagna looked wonderful – it was cheesy, with golden noodles and bright tomato sauce. _It looks like something out of a professional kitchen_ , Stephen mentally commented. After scooping some onto his plate via spatula, he grabbed two slices of hot garlic bread, and then headed towards the table.

_This is it._ There was going to be no escape now – he would be in close proximity to these strangers and be completely at their mercy in the conversation. There would be nothing he could busy himself with, besides the food, meaning he had to face any questions head-on. A small amount of nervousness settled in his belly as he sat down – not as intense as before, but still quite uncomfortable. He was entering the belly of the beast, and he knew that he wasn’t quite prepared.


	8. Escape

November 7th, 2019

The first few minutes of the dinner were spent in agonizing silence, which left June screaming mentally. It filled the space around them and pressed downwards, making the air thick and heavy. _Just say something! Anything!_ She had words on the tip of her tongue, but she just couldn’t force them out. Everything sounded dumb in her head, and she was trying really hard not to embarrass herself tonight.

“So, I take it that the food is good, considering we’re all eating instead of talking?” May was the one who broke the awkward silence, and June let out the breath she was holding.

Stephen finished the bite he was chewing before speaking. “It’s wonderful. This is honestly the best lasagna I’ve ever had. Did you make this from scratch?” His words were genuine – the food really was delicious. It tasted too good to be anything store-bought, the ingredients were far too fresh to have been frozen once.

“I did, yes.” May said with a smile. “I used store-bought pasta, but everything else is from scratch.” She paused for a moment. “I’m glad you like it!” The urge to add “I’ll make sure that June knows the recipe so she can make it for you” was something May had to force down. While June was obviously infatuated with Stephen, she didn’t want to potentially embarrass her or imply something that June wasn’t going to actually pursue. There was a big difference between simply being attracted to someone and gunning for a relationship, and she wasn’t sure which side of the fence June was on.

“You’re a very talented cook, Ms. Jones.” Stephen smiled before taking another bite.

“Yeah, Mom’s the best chef in the world. It sucks that I didn’t inherit the ‘master cook’ gene.” June commented after finishing her bite.

“I’ve tried to teach you! You just never listen.” May playfully chided June.

“Hey, remember that one time you messed up spaghetti?” April chimed in with a small grin, hoping to embarrass her sister a bit.

“I told you, the store only had whole wheat spaghetti, so I ended up going with angel hair as an alternative. How was I supposed to know it was going to be terrible?” June laughed.

“You actually messed up spaghetti?” Stephen asked, with a raised brow and amused smirk.

“Hey, it was my first time making it, and I never claimed to be a good cook.” She pulled her mouth to the side, feeling a little awkward and defensive.

“Fair enough.” He said as his grin turned into a smile. A moment of silence passed as they all turned to their meals. Stephen felt awkwardness settle into his stomach, and he decided to break the silence by engaging the quietest member at the table. “So, April… Are you in school?”

April stared at him for a second, her eyes intense, and Stephen felt a shiver crawl up his spine. _Did I offend her? I really hope not,_ he thought. He didn’t want to break eye contact with her – he wasn’t going to let her know that she scared him.

“Yeah, sadly. I’m a senior this year.” Her voice was dry as ever, and Stephen blinked.

“Ah, that’s always a fun year.” Senior years were generally considered the best year of high school, but Stephen’s wasn’t very pleasant, in the standard sense. He spent almost all of his time studying for his entrance exams and SATs, as well as maintaining perfect grades. It was fulfilling for him, but he didn’t socialize like the rest of the seniors did. Part of him wished that he had, that maybe his priorities would have shifted enough to make him less of an asshole.

“If you say so. I can’t wait to graduate because then I’m going to have June turn me into a mermaid, so I can lure sailors to their deaths.” She stared at Stephen, unblinking as she spoke. Another shiver made its way up his spine.

“April, don’t be weird.” June commented before taking another bite of food.

“Besides, I’ve specifically forbade you from becoming a mermaid.” May added, passing a stern look to her youngest daughter.

“So, you’re having your sister turn you into a mermaid? I don’t recall teaching her transfiguration spells yet – have you been holding out on me, June?” Stephen asked with a small smirk.

“Oh man, you’ve caught me. I’ve actually been a master of magic this whole time – I’ve just been playing you.” June said back, her tone equally as sarcastic as Strange’s was.

“I always knew something was off about you. You’ve got to work on those acting skills if you’re going to fool anyone at Kamar-Taj, you know.” He replied before taking a bite of his own meal. If he kept talking instead of eating, it would get cold, and cold lasagna was just terrible. Thankfully his food was still pretty warm.

“Who are you kidding, they put me up to the task. You’re too powerful, I’ve been sent to kill you.” June winked at Stephen before turning her attention to her plate.

“Hah! They’d have to send someone with twice your magical ability to destroy me.” Stephen said with a sarcastic arrogance.  

“There’s no need to kill each other.” May chimed in, her voice a bit quieter than normal. She had been using this time to size up Stephen, and to get a good feel for what he was like as a person. Cross-referencing what June has said about the man with how he was acting today allowed her to make a few conclusions. He was sassy, but sweet. Selfless. He was humble, but not _too_ humble – June had said he was arrogant while he was a neurosurgeon – which left May to wonder what had happened to this man to change him so drastically. He didn’t seem like a bad person, and she doubted June would be hanging around him so much if that were the case. It was too soon to place her seal of approval on him, but she doubted that he would do something to make him unworthy of it. _He did save the world, after all,_ she thought. _How bad could he really be?_

Moments of silence stretched out between them, each person mulling over their thoughts. The lack of talking made the situation a little awkward, and Stephen was anxious to resume small talk. He wanted to discuss June’s progress, to explain to her family how talented she was. Although they would never understand what it was like to be a sorcerer, being in such close proximity to one would have at least introduced them to the magical world.

“So, what happened to your hands?” April’s question seemed to make the temperature drop a few degrees. For a second, June and May looked at her with wide eyes that were full of shock.

“April!” May hissed.

“Stephen, oh my god, I’m so sorry.” June blurted out as May scolded her daughter. “I didn’t think April would be so _rude._ ” June narrowed her eyes at her sister.

“No, no, it’s quite alright.” Stephen was shocked at April’s bluntness, but he wasn’t unprepared for the question. He had figured it would come up eventually, especially since it was so noticeable. “It’s a fair question, and a good story.”

“A good story?” June asked, turning her head to look at him. “Are you sure? You don’t have to talk about it.”

“I know. But it’s not like it’s a secret or anything. To answer your question, April…” Stephen closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. When he opened them, he began to tell his story – of who he was before the wreck, and what had happened to him. It was difficult for him in some parts, and he stuttered a bit when talking about the wreck itself.

“It all… happened so fast. I was driving one minute, then the next, I was weightless.” Stephen’s brow furrowed, and he clenched his hands.

_Glass. Noise. Floating. Falling. Pain._ Painful thoughts showed up in bursts, and Strange had to close his eyes once more, as he let out a ragged breath. He wasn’t in the kitchen anymore, he was in his car, upside down and fading out of reality. The dark of night surrounded him. The smell of the hot engine assaulted his senses. He couldn’t feel his hands, and the water level was rising, getting closer and closer to his head. _Oh god, no, nonono-_

June’s hand on Stephen’s arm pulled him back into reality. “Don’t do this to yourself.” Her voice was soft and full of concern, and Stephen felt as if he was hearing her speak for the first time. Their eyes met for a second, and Stephen became grounded in his surroundings once more.

“It’s fine. I’m okay… I need to talk about this. I haven’t really… done this before.” He explained, looking down at his hands. He had always told a vague synopsis of his story when asked about it, never going into detail about what happened and why. He never talked about it, and as a result, never dealt with it. It was just far too easy to shove these feelings down into an abyss, and forget about them. The downside to this tactic, however, was that it prevented any sort of healing from beginning. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be… weird about it.”

“It’s fine, honey.” May’s voice was soothing and motherly, and it made Stephen long for the days when his mother used to talk to him with that tone. “Take your time. If you’re uncomfortable with talking about it, you don’t have to.”

Stephen shook his head. “It’s fine. We’re past the rough part.” A nervous smile played on his lips. He hated the fact that he let this conversation get so raw and emotional – letting people see this side of him was something he usually avoided. Everybody romanticizes opening up to people, when the harsh reality is that it _hurts._ There was a physical pain in Stephen’s chest, as if his heart was aching from being torn open. It wasn’t too different of a sensation from heartbreak, and Stephen felt a small lump in his throat. Three pairs of eyes were fixed on him – now was not the time to freeze up. He had an audience.

“As I was saying, after I woke up in the hospital…” This part of the story was easy to tell. It flowed naturally, and was a compelling narrative on its own. He talked about Kathmandu, and how beautiful it was. May and June were both hanging on to every word he spoke with an intensity that almost unnerved Strange. June had mentioned a desire to travel and see the world, and learning about new places must have fascinated her.

“Was the food good? And how warm was it?” June asked when Stephen paused between sentences. He raised a brow at her and smiled a bit.

“You know, you can always go there yourself. It’s less fun if I just tell you what it was like.” He replied.

“Well, you’ve got me there.” She looked at her mother. “Wanna go to Nepal this Saturday?”

May laughed and nodded. “Sure, I guess. You make it sound so casual.”

“Well, it kind of is.” June explained. “I mean, we could spend a few hours there, and come home instantly when we’re done.”

“Tell me before you go – I’ll give you a list of some places you should definitely check out.” Stephen took a quick drink of his water. “And if you can find the door to Kamar-Taj without anyone helping you, I’ll give you $20.” He held a smug grin on his face. _There’s no way. She’ll never find it_.

“I’ll take you up on that. I’ll see you on Monday, and you better have the cash.” June grinned at him. Competition was a natural high for June, and Stephen often used it as a training method for her. If you wanted her to do something well, just make it a contest - she’d give it her all.

“I will. Talk to Araav when you get there, so I can see if you really did it or not.” It’s not that Stephen doubted June’s honesty, he mostly wanted to keep this light conversation flowing. Having banter with June was familiar and pleasant, and it was a nice distraction from his previous distress.

“So, did you find Hogwarts?” April asked, reminding Stephen that there was a story to be told.

“Sadly, no. I never got my invitation.” He let out a chuckle. “So, where was I? Ah, Kamar-Taj…” This part of the story was his favorite. It’s where he became a better man, and learned how to harness powers he had never even imagined. He spoke of the Ancient One and her teachings, of Mordo and his strength, and of Kaecilius and his misguided ambitions.

“So Kaecilius was a leader of an insane death cult?” April asked, her eyes shining with morbid curiosity.

“He tried to end the world, April.” June said dryly. “Don’t idolize him.”

“I don’t, I just like the concept. I want a death cult like that.” April grinned.

“Trust me, you don’t want to be a part of Kaecilius’ band. They’re currently spending eternal life in agony with Dormammu in the Dark Dimension.” Stephen added.

“So, you stopped him, right? I mean, the world’s still here, after all.” May asked. Stephen passed her a quick nod.

“Dormammu and his zealots will never bother Earth again.” He said. Strange looked down at his plate for a moment, silently wishing he still had a bite or two of the lasagna left. His plate was empty, and he noticed that everyone else’s plate was too.

_I spent the whole dinner talking about myself? God damnit, how could I?_ He kicked himself mentally, letting harsh words and stinging feelings fill his mind. “I’m sorry – I didn’t mean to spend this dinner talking about myself.” He rubbed the back on his neck nervously. “Forgive me.”

“Stephen, we asked you to tell us this story.” May said. “You have nothing to apologize for.”

“She has a point.” April said. Stephen blinked – was April actually being amiable to him? It was more than a dark look and a macabre observation, so Stephen chalked it up to making progress with her.

“They’re right, you know.” June gave Stephen a quick and light punch to his arm. “Don’t beat yourself up over nothing.” She paused for a moment. “I mean, I feel like you’re going to do this anyway, but come on.” Her eyes were soft, and a small smile played on her lips.

He sighed and gave a small nod. “I guess you’re right.”

May stood up, her plate in her hand, and reached for April’s plate. “Please, allow me.” Stephen quickly cut in, making May pause.

“Stephen, absolutely not. You’re our guest. Guests don’t clear tables.” May’s voice was stern, and there was a look in her eyes that said “I’m not budging on this.”

Strange, however, pursued the topic anyway. “Please, it’s the least I can do, as a thank you for the meal.” He stood up and made a quick motion with his hands – June recognized it as the one for object levitation – and then held his right hand out. All three plates on the table floated upwards, and May’s plate lifted out of her hand. With a wave of his hand, the plates floated over to the sink, where they settled themselves in the soapy water. He flicked his wrist, and both May and April’s cups floated along into the sink as well.

May blinked, with her brows high and her eyes wide. She passed a quick glance to the sink, then to Stephen, then to June. “Why can’t you do that?” May asked her daughter.

“Because it’ll make you lazy!” Juniper laughed with a cheeky grin.

“Because god forbid that something is convenient in this house.” April said. “If you have magic like that, then why don’t you just clean the whole house with it? You could have a room done in a few seconds.”

“To be fair, it takes a good amount of mental fortitude to do multiple things at once.” Stephen commented.

“So, you’re saying June’s too stupid to do it?” April asked. June quickly punched her sister in the arm, which made April wince and rub her upper arm.

“You’re the stupid one.” June quickly said with narrowed eyes.

“Girls.” May’s voice held a strength to it, and a familiarity that implied that she warned her daughters often. “Stop it.”

“She started it.” June motioned to April, who rolled her eyes.

“And I’m finishing it!” May snapped at her daughter. “We have company, behave.” Her voice remained at normal talking volume. May hardly ever had to raise her voice at her daughters, because her stern tone and the threat it carried was all she needed to rein them in.

“Alright.” June said as she wiped her hands on her napkin briefly before standing up out of her chair. April followed suit.

“I’m going back upstairs.” She said before making her way towards the living room.

“Fine, but you’re helping June with the dishes!” May called as her youngest daughter began her ascent up to the stairs. She turned to June and said something, but Stephen wasn’t paying attention. The time displayed on the stove had grabbed his attention – it was a little after 9.

It was late, considering the fact that he had to be up and at Kamar-Taj at 6 in the morning the next day. It was a Friday, meaning that Stephen had to report June’s progress to the council. Additionally, he had to help teach a class with Master Bao that morning as well. _Too bad Bao didn’t need help with his 11 o’ clock class…_ Stephen mentally grumbled.

“Hey June.” He said after May had finished talking to her daughter. Juniper looked at him with a quick turn of her head.

“Yeah, what is it?” She asked, resting a hand on her hip.

“It’s getting late. I hate to eat then leave, but I’ve got to be at Kamar-Taj at 6 tomorrow.” He admitted to June and a listening May.

“That’s fine sweetie.” May said with a smile. “Here, let me box up some of this food for you so you can take it home.”

Stephen raised his hands. “Oh no, that won’t be necessary. I couldn’t ask that of you!” May didn’t press the topic further, but she did pass Stephen a look that said “This isn’t over.”

“Well, do you want to head out?” June asked.

“Yeah.” Stephen nodded and stuck his hand out to May, who shook it gently. “It’s been a pleasure, Ms. Jones.” He said with his trademark smile, which he had mentally dubbed as “the charmer.” “And thank you for the wonderful dinner.”

“Thank you honey, it’s no problem.” May beamed. She passed a quick nod to Stephen as she spoke. “You’ll have to come over more often – it’s nice to have someone around here who appreciates my cooking.” She said with a wink.

June groaned with a hint of sarcasm. “Don’t be dramatic, Mom.” She couldn’t keep the smile off of her face. May grinned back at her daughter before turning back to Stephen.

“Goodbye, Stephen. It was a pleasure.” She said.

“Likewise.” He replied with a nod. He looked to June, who motioned towards the door with a small nod of her head. Stephen made his way out of the kitchen, and June followed close behind him.

“Want me to walk you home so you don’t get mugged?” June asked with a grin as they reached the door. Stephen let out a small chuckle.

“What would I do without you here to protect me?” Stephen joked as he opened the door. The bitter cold bit his face once more as he stepped outside. June followed suit. Stephen pulled his sling ring out of his pocket, and slid it onto his hand. The cold air bit at his exposed skin and stung a bit, but the sensation was muted through his damaged hands. He quickly opened an orange portal, and inside of it was another living room – this one modestly decorated in a monochromatic color scheme. The furniture was much more modern than what was found in June’s home.

“Now it’s my turn.” Stephen said before stepping through the portal. June stepped in as well, eager to escape the cold. The portal closed quickly behind her, leaving them both in the darkened living room.

“Welcome to my place.” Stephen said as he flipped on the light. June looked around, quickly taking in all the details that she could. The room, and the connected kitchen were both very clean. Like, immaculate. _Does he actually live here?_ _It’s spotless…_ June thought. _Was he… expecting me? Did he plan this?_ This would explain why everything was so clean – there was no way this room was lived in.

“It’s nice.” June settled for the compliment, even though there were a few alarms blaring in her head. It’s not that Stephen necessarily made her uncomfortable – it was more of a gut reaction than a logical one. “But why bring me here?”

June had him made. “Well, uh, it only seemed fair.” _And it has totally nothing to do with the fact that I want you to be able to sling here,_ he thought sarcastically. He wanted her to be able to reach him in an instant, should anything happen to her. The fear wasn’t unfounded – her book made her a magnet for monsters and just trouble in general. What if the book started acting up in the middle of the night? What if a monster made a portal in her house? Stephen needed to prepare for these possibilities.

He would have been lying if he said his intentions were entirely pure, however. A deep, dark part of him whispered sweet tales of June coming to him in the night, lonely and cold and desperate for affection… _Enough!_ He put his hands behind his back and pinched a tender part of his hand, hard. The pain was enough to distract him from the dark thoughts brewing in his mind, and bring him back into the current conversation.

“Besides, what if something happens and I’m not at the sanctum?” He asked, trying to convince himself that this was the only reason he brought her here. “You need to be able to sling here if something happens.”

“Fair enough.” June said. She looked a little uncomfortable, with her back straight and her fists occasionally clenching themselves. “Well, uh, I’m going to head back. Dishes, you know?” She let out a terrible excuse for a laugh, which came out as a shaky and awkward “heh.”

“Ah, of course. I’d hate to keep you.” Stephen said, looking down at his feet momentarily. June pulled her own sling ring out of her pocket, and quickly created a portal to the outside of her house. Before stepping through it, she paused.

“I had a great time tonight.” She said quietly, passing a soft glance to him.

“Me too.” He said with just the faintest of smiles. June stepped forward, and she vanished in a swirl of orange sparks.

_You’re a fucking idiot! What is wrong with you?_ Stephen placed his hands on his forehead and let out an audible groan. He felt like he was going to throw up. _Why did you do that?_ He smeared his hands down his face with another groan and flopped onto the couch.

_This was a mistake. I’m far too eager to let June in…_ It’s not the June being a part of his life was a bad thing, but Stephen had been letting his guard down around her. He was letting himself get too close, too comfortable with her. The thought of a relationship with her was something that occasionally danced in his head ever since he met her, but they were always weak, idle fantasies that were very far removed from reality. But recently, something had changed between them.

He couldn’t quite pinpoint what signaled the change, but their dynamic had certainly shifted. June wasn’t just his student anymore, she was this bright, beautiful woman who called to him. His lack of self-control disgusted him. _So, you lose your mind over a pretty face? Get it together!_ Anger boiled inside of him. _Stop this. Get a hold of yourself._ If he didn’t get a handle on these newfound urges, he was going to destroy his relationship with June. June’s friendship was one of the most important things in the world to him – she had become his best friend over the year they’ve spent together.

_I’ll apologize to her tomorrow,_ he vowed. _But for now, rest._ While it was tempting to stay up and let anxiety run wild in his mind over the situation, he had a class to teach in the morning. He ran one of his hands through his raven hair and sighed. The thought of teaching tomorrow wasn’t helping his anxiety, and he was almost dreading it.

            _But there’s no point in worrying about it._ He closed his eyes for a second and centered himself. For a moment, he felt his chakras and became aware of them temporarily. He took a deep breath in, held it for a few seconds, and then released it slowly. His eyes opened after a few moments, and he finally got up, ready to begin his nightly routine.

            _I won’t make a fool of myself tomorrow,_ he vowed as he made his way to the bathroom. _Tomorrow will be better._


	9. Abracadabra

November 9th, 2019

            There was something coming. Stephen could feel it in his bones. He looked up from his book and scanned his study with a critical eye. There had been a shift in magical energy, and it sent waves of foreboding and impending danger. He could sense it, and the location of the disturbance. _It’s close,_ Stephen thought as he got up out of his chair and exited his study.

A quick whistle came from his mouth, and after a few seconds, Cloak flew into the room with the sound of flapping fabric and at lightning speed. It settled itself onto Strange’s shoulders, and the familiar and comfortable weight of the cape helped steady him. He quickly descended the stairs to the lower level, and felt the presence grow even stronger. The sensation gave him a headache as well as made him nauseous, and they were both getting worse as Stephen moved further into the display room.

For a split second, the air seemed to ripple and distort at the doorway to the foyer, and then the familiar sound of a portal opening filled the air. A circle of orange sparks twirled, but Stephen couldn’t see what was on the other side of it.

“June?” He asked as he creeped forwards, his hands crackling with magical energy. He knew it wasn’t Juniper the second he opened his mouth, but part of him held onto the hope that just _maybe_ it was her.

Then they came. Blue slugs, about the size of a forearm, and with several sets of antennae, poured out of the portal. Their numbers were so great that they seemed to flow like water, and the sea of slugs began to fill the floor. The Cloak pulled Stephen into the air, away from the beasts. Stephen recognized them: Een’Gawori. These creatures were magic-eating slugs, and they quickly began attaching themselves to every relic they could get their slimy tummies on.

 _Their main strength is in numbers. Venomous – do not touch. There’s usually a queen somewhere._ Strange rattled off facts about the Een’Gawori in his head as he took a second to formulate a plan.

Stephen struck quickly, forming a whip and shredding slugs as he slashed through the air with it. But the effort was useless – slugs were still pouring out of the portal, and for every one that Strange slayed, 3 more took its place. _I’m fighting a losing fight,_ he thought. _I need backup._ Using Cloak’s magic, Stephen quickly flew upstairs to his study. He slammed the door shut behind him, and barred it with his body. Keeping the door shut with magic would have been smarter, but Stephen needed his hands free. He pulled out his sling ring, and quickly opened a portal to June’s living room.

“June!” He cried. The door behind him was shoved, hard. The slugs were here. “Juuune!” He yelled, even louder than before.

“Stephen?” June’s voice floated through the portal, and Stephen let out a sigh of relief. She came into view of the portal, and peered through it curiously. She was still in her pajamas – which initially surprised Stephen, until he remembered that it was 9 on a Saturday morning. _Of course, she’d be in her pajamas,_ Stephen thought. He wasn’t sure if he liked it or not; the tank top revealed her shoulders, upper back and the top of her chest, making the view lovely, but the outfit was not combat-ready. And he _really_ needed for June to be ready to kick some slug ass.

“What’s going on?” She asked, poking her head through the portal. Stephen groaned as the door was slammed against once more, this time harder than the last.

“Magical slugs! Filling the Sanctum and eating everything! We’ve gotta do something!” He explained quickly, practically yelling the words. June leapt through the portal without a word, and assumed her tiger fighting stance. “Be ready to move!” He barked before jumping away from the door. It immediately swung open, and slugs started pouring in. June began attacking immediately, using a sword she conjured in less than a second.

“We’ve got to get to the portal to close it!” Stephen yelled as he continued to use a conjured whip to slash at the creatures. Green blood splattered everywhere with each kill – June could only pray that it wouldn’t stain. _These are my favorite pajama pants…_ She mentally whined.

“June, let’s go!” Stephen’s voice was demanding, and she was grateful for his leadership – there would be no way she could have handled something like this on her own, without guidance.

June gave Stephen a quick nod, and in a smooth and powerful motion, he scooped June up and used the Cloak to fly out of his study. This was a maneuver that they had practiced a million times before: Stephen would fly June up high, and then drop her. She would control her fall and use the opportunity to land an aerial attack on their enemy. This would free Stephen up for a magical attack, and the two hits would make a nasty 1-2 combo.

“There!” Strange said as he flew down the stairs, with June in his arms. “Hit it with everything you’ve got!”

“With pleasure.” June grinned. Stephen did a quick spin and used the momentum to throw June as hard as he could, sending her towards the portal. June conjured a sword in each hand as she flew, and when she was close enough, she slashed as hard as she could.

The portal was split where June had cut it, and the distortion in the air around the portal seemed to recede a bit. June came to a skidding halt behind the portal, and hissed. Slugs were still pouring out of the portal – it was time for more drastic measures. The second her feet touched the ground, every slug froze in place, not even bothering to move out of the way of Stephen’s attacks. The air was quiet outside of the sizzling of conjured weapons, and June shivered. Then every slug immediately rolled around, and faced June.

“Oh no.” Stephen and June whispered simultaneously. The slugs then rushed at June, their round blue bodies moving much faster than what should have been possible. June froze for a second, and as a slug touched her bare foot, June leapt back with a cry and began to slash away at any slug within her reach.

“Watch out!” Stephen quickly slashed at the slugs who were making their way towards June. Their slimy bodies crawled over each other in a desperate attempt to get to Juniper. His whip came dangerously close to grazing June, and he grimaced.

June let out a scream as the slugs began crawling up her legs and weighing her down. “Stephen!” She cried as she tried to slash the slugs off her body. But it was too much. The slugs crawled higher and even more piled up as they began to cover June’s body. She helplessly flailed, and then fell backwards.

“June!” Strange flew forward, ready to save June, when he saw it: the Een’Gawori queen was crawling out of the portal. This slug was massive, about the size of a leg, purple in color, and had antennae all down its back. _Now’s my chance!_ The Een’Gawori were hive animals – if he killed the queen, the rest of the slugs would scatter, and no longer be under her chemical influence.

Summoning all of his strength, Stephen flew towards the portal with a conjured disc over his fist. The queen reared up at him and let out a terrifyingly large roar from its circular, jagged toothed mouth. There was no time for hesitation. He moved quickly, and in one swift and deadly motion, he extended the disc outwards and slashed the queen clean in half.

The creature let out a dying scream, and began to thrash violently. Her fellow slugs began to hum loudly in response, catching Stephen by surprise. _No book mentioned this…_ The queen let out a final cry, then stopped wiggling. The slugs seemed to shiver, and they slowly made their way back to the closing portal, still humming loudly.

Although the bizarre behavior fascinated him, there was no time to study them. Stephen quickly flew over to the pile of slugs in the living room, and with his magic, began to rip large groups of them from the pile.

“June?! Can you hear me?” He called as he tore group after group of slugs away from the pile, tossing them back into the portal from which they came. The lack of a response chilled his bones, and he began to pull the slugs away faster. His mind raced – June’s veins would be filled with Een’Gawori venom, meaning two things: her motor control was impaired, and steadily deteriorating, and her respiratory system was being assaulted as the venom made her airways swell. There was no time to waste – June needed him, and _now._

“June!” He called again, reaching deep within himself to gather enough strength to pull the rest of the slugs off her. Each slug glowed orange as it was forcefully shoved by magic. June’s face appeared as the slugs were pushed away from her. Then her torso, and finally, her legs were clear of the slugs. Almost every inch of exposed skin was bruised or bitten, and Stephen felt guilt rise up like a great wave, and then settle into his stomach. When the slugs were pulled off her entirely, she coughed and rolled onto her side with a wheeze.

“What… happened…?” June’s voice was weak, and her limbs were starting to tremble a bit. Covering almost every inch of exposed skin were circular bite marks, as if someone had stamped a cookie cutter against her skin several times. They were bleeding slightly, and the sight of them made Stephen internally wince. Stephen floated down to her. _No time to waste,_ Stephen thought. The longer the venom stayed in her system, the more damage it was going to do. He leaned down and snaked his arms under her, and in a smooth motion, pulled her to his chest.

“Why… do I feel… weird?” Her breathing was ragged, and each word sounded strained.

“Those slugs overpowered you, and filled you with venom.” He paused, and simply stared down at her. “I’m… I’m so sorry, June.” He spoke slowly, as if to give himself time to think of a proper apology. One didn’t come to mid – how do you apologize for getting your best friend bitten all over and filled with venom?

“Not… your fault.” June said weakly before coughing. Stephen’s eyes softened, and he used Cloak’s magic to lift himself up into the air.

“Let’s get you patched up.” This was his fault, the least he could do was heal her. June’s eyes shut as she leaned against Stephen’s chest.

“Okay.” She breathed. Inside his mind, Stephen was screaming at himself. _This is my fault._ The slugs were attracted to and ate magic – bringing the strongest source of magic currently in the world to them was like handing them an all-you-can-eat buffet. _I shouldn’t have brought her into this._ Guilt clawed at him, its sharp claws tearing at his insides. He let out a sigh silently floated upstairs using Cloak, and headed towards his study.

 “You know what?” June said quietly.

“What?” Stephen asked.

“There’s this sushi place in town. I heard it’s great. We need to go there.” June inhaled deeply after speaking. Stephen raised his brows, taken aback.

“You want to… go get sushi?” He asked. “Are you serous right now? You’ve got to be kidding me.”

June’s brows furrowed. “When you’re covered with biting slugs, it makes you think about all the stuff you haven’t done in life. And I want to see you try wasabi, damnit.” She occasionally coughed between words.

“So, you’re serious?” He asked, still in disbelief. Was June _really_ asking him out right now? He sifted through his mind to find anything about the venom having any side effects that would have made her less inhibited or even delusional. Nothing came to mind.

“As a slug attack.” June tried to laugh, but was interrupted by a couching fit. The venom was attacking her respiratory system – Stephen needed to get it out of her, and fast. They floated into Stephen’s study, and he sat June down on the desk.

“That was a terrible joke by the way.” He commented quietly before scanning the spines of the books that decorated the shelves in the room.

“Let’s see you… do better.” June wheezed, and Stephen rolled his eyes. _At least she was feeling well enough to tell jokes,_ Stephen thought. _Doesn’t stop her from making stupid jokes, however._ Stephen found the book he was looking for – _The Rejuvenatium._ He flipped through it quickly, passing over several pages he had bookmarked, and he found the spell he was looking for: _remove venom._ He skimmed the spell quickly, memorizing it with only one pass. He closed the book and shoved it back into its slot on the bookshelf, and pivoted to face June.

“This might hurt a bit, so brace yourself.” Stephen said before making a set of hand motions and mentally reciting the mantra of a spell. His hands sparked with white energy – the trademark sign of a healing spell.

June hissed in pain. It felt like her insides were being rearranged, and burning filled up her entire being. She gritted her teeth and gripped the lip of the desk with all of her might. Her insides were pulling left, then right, then upward. The sensation was disorienting, to say the least. Then June felt a burning lump in her chest, that traveled up into her throat. As it climbed, it grew more painful. June then opened her mouth, and a yellow liquid was pulled out of her, and gathered in the air to make a sphere of liquid. But June felt immediately better. Breathing was easier, and her body felt stronger.

“What is that?” She asked, pointing to the yellow, floating liquid. Knowing that stuff was just inside of her made her feel a bit light-headed.

“Een’Gawori venom. It was clogging up your airways.” Stephen explained. “It attacks the nervous and respiratory systems, inducing paralysis and asphyxiation in extreme cases.”

June blinked. _Was I… going to be paralyzed?_ She asked herself. “Ah, well, thanks for getting it out of me.” She smiled up at him, her gratitude genuine.

“No problem.” Stephen controlled the sphere with one hand, and used the other to pick up an empty jar from one of the shelves in the room. He magically unscrewed the lid, and the liquid filled the jar. Stephen closed it quickly, and sat it back on the shelf from which the it came. “This will come in handy if we ever need to make an anti-venom.” He commented.

“Now let’s help you stop bleeding.” Stephen stepped forward to June, and rested his hand just above the skin on her arm. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, summoning more healing magic.

June winced as the magic began to work on her wounds. The sensation of being healed wasn’t pleasant – feeling your body regenerate muscle and skin was painful and very bizarre. The sensation only lasted about 5 seconds, and then it stopped. Strange removed his hand from her arm, and June looked down at the bites. Several of them had healed over, leaving smooth and new skin in its place.

“You’ve got to teach me how to do that.” She said, slightly awestruck. Healing spells were not a new concept to her, but she had never been on the receiving end of one.

Strange gave a small smirk. “Only if you promise to not get eaten by slugs.” He teased as he placed his hand over a different section of her arm, and began to heal it.

“Hey, you know that’s a promise I can’t make.” June smiled at him. “It’s not like I planned this, you know.” Stephen’s smile faded, and June gave him a light nudge on his shoulder. “Hey, you didn’t plan this either. Don’t beat yourself up about it.”

“It’s hard not to.” He admitted as he continued to heal her, occasionally moving on to a new area of exposed skin. “I should have pulled someone from Kamar-Taj or one of the other Sanctums.” His eyes darkened, and he felt his guilt rise again Here he was, the master of an entire Sanctum, and he couldn’t even protect his only student.

“Maybe so. But I’m glad you immediately thought of me when you needed help.” June brushed some of her messy hair out of her face. “You think I’m capable enough to handle stuff like this.”

“I can’t comment. If I actually told you how talented you were, it’d go straight to your head.” Strange moved to her shoulder and began healing.

“Like you’re one to talk. You’re the king of inflated egos.” June grinned cheekily, grateful for the distraction from the pain of being healed.

“I’m the king? Bow down, peasant.” Stephen had finished healing her right arm and moved on to her neck and collar bone. Thankfully the spell covered a large area of skin, so he didn’t have to press his hand against her sternum to heal the bites there. _Saves us a lot of embarrassment_ , he thought.

June wrinkled her nose a bit. “Terrible joke.”

“Hey, you smiled. It worked.” Stephen gave his half-smirk, and June landed another light punch against his arm.

“You’re such a little shit.” June said with a laugh. Seeing June being herself relieved Stephen – she was clearly feeling better after the venom had been removed from her. And after he healed her wounds, it would be like it almost never happened. June didn’t seem bothered by the incident, and didn’t hold resentment towards him for his careless mistake.

“Oh, like you’re not?” He walked over to her other side and began to work on that arm. June marveled at her healed arm, sticking it out and rotating it as she examined it.

“True, true.” She conceded. “I still can’t get over this healing spell. This is mind-blowing. Imagine this stuff in hospitals.”

“I would be lying if I said I hadn’t thought of reentering the practice with it. But relying on magic like that would stunt medical advancements, especially if other sorcerers get involved. Why create better tech when you can just have a sorcerer do the job?” He paused for a moment. The real reason he didn’t want to reenter the practice was because he’d slide back into his old ways. Fame, fortune… it corrupts and twists people. Stephen feared he wasn’t strong enough to resist the pull of his vices.

June looked at him, her eyes scanning his face with curiosity and concern. She knew there was something else, something more, that made him not want to reenter the practice – but she could never get it out of him. If he was just worried about medical advancements, he wouldn’t be this hung up over the concept. _Talk to me,_ she whispered in her mind. The stinging of her skin was brought back to the forefront of her mind, and she gripped the table edge with her hands. A shaky breath escaped her lips, and June mentally kicked herself for showing weakness. _You’re stronger than this, it’s just a little pain._

“Are you okay? I can stop, if you want.” Stephen pulled his hand away from her skin, breaking the spell, and looked at June with concerned eyes. He knew that the healing spell wasn’t exactly pleasant, but he didn’t want to cause her any pain, if he could help it.

“No, I’m fine.” June said, letting out a sharp exhale as Stephen stopped the spell. “I need these to heal up. Don’t stop.”

Stephen paused, and after a moment of hesitation, placed his hand back on her arm to finish healing it. Her brows furrowed as more pain pulled at her skin.

“So, were you still serious about that sushi thing?” Stephen asked. The concept had been bothering him ever since June asked. Part of him leapt up at the thought of spending time with June, but the rest of him held reservations. _She has to be into me, it’s the only rational explanation,_ Stephen thought. _But… what if I’m wrong? What if she really does just want to hang out as friends?_ The concept disappointed Stephen a bit, and he mentally kicked himself for feeling that way. _Don’t act like this! Even if she was into you, there would be no way you could have a relationship with her!_ There were specific rules set by the council explicitly against this kind of relationship, and they were on thin ice with them as it was.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” June asked. If Stephen wasn’t holding her shoulder, she would have shrugged.

“There’s plenty of reasons. For example, why did getting eaten by slugs make you decide to ask me this? And why sushi?” Part of Stephen was urging to just take this gift of an opportunity to run with it, but there was a more critical portion of his mind that needed to make sense of all this.

“To tell you the truth…” June paused for a moment and inhaled. “My last friend from college just moved away a few months ago.”

“Right.” Stephen nodded, remembering how June mentioned it previously.

“So basically, that makes me a sad, lonely fuck.” She admitted with a laugh. “I want to get out and do things, but doing stuff by myself makes me _look_ like somebody who’s sad and alone. I’m 26 for god’s sake, I should be out partying the night away, not hanging out with my mom constantly.”

“I see.” Her reasoning made sense. June was a social person, and she didn’t do well being cooped up in the house or Sanctum. Stephen understood the desire to get out and do things with somebody – he was reluctant to admit that he was in desperate need of some social interaction. _I’m getting rusty with it,_ he mentally commented.

He ran his hand over June’s neck and over her cheek. His fingers accidentally brushed against her face from his shaking, and Stephen mentally kicked himself again.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to actually touch-“

“It’s fine.” June cut him off, a hint of rose in her cheeks. “I know you can’t help it.” A moment of awkward silence passed between them, as Stephen silently finished healing her.

“That should do it.” He said with a nod. June jumped down from the desk and rolled her shoulders.

“Good as new. Thanks.” She gave herself a quick glance, inspecting some of her fresh skin on her arm. “Hey, do you mind if I borrow that book?  Saying that spell is useful would be an understatement.”

Stephen nodded and went to retrieve it from the shelf. “You never did answer my question about the sushi.” He reminded her.

“Ah! Well, I haven’t had it in a while, since Mom and April hate it. It just sounded good – we don’t have to get it if you want something else.”

“Nah, sushi’s fine. Is a dinner really a meal if you don’t eat something raw and slimy?” He asked sarcastically.

“You’ve got a point.” June rolled her eyes. Stephen extended the book out to her, which she took. “So, are you in or not?”

“Well, after this slug infestation, I could certainly use a night away from this place. When and where?” He asked as he adjusted the wraps on his forearms, a nervous habit he’d picked up recently.

“Tonight… at 7? At Sakura Roll?”

Stephen smiled. “That’s fine by me. We meeting here?”

June shrugged. “Works for me.” She gave a quick look around the room, too nervous to meet Stephen’s eyes. “Hey, if we’re done here, I’m gonna bounce. After nearly getting eaten, I could really do with some breakfast.”

“Of course.” He nodded.

“Well, um… I’ll see you tonight then.” June instinctively reached for a pocketed sling ring, only to realize she didn’t have one. “Care to make a portal?” She asked with a nervous smile.

Stephen rolled his eyes. “I suppose.” He pulled out his own sling ring, and quickly opened a portal to June’s living room. “See you later.” He said with a smile.

“See you later.” June nodded at him before quickly jumping through the portal.

“June! I told you, no more portals in the living room!” The voice of May caught Stephen by surprise, and he quickly closed the portal with his brows raised.

 _Whoops._ He didn’t mean to get June in trouble, but how else was he going to get a hold of her in situations like these? A telepathy spell would be too invasive – and Stephen wanted to keep June well away from his thoughts. That only left one practical option. _Texting it is._ But there was no time to worry about it. The day was still young, and he had a few house-calls he had to respond to before the day was over. The call was… something about a possessed dog? He shook his head and headed out of his study. He was keener to face curses and possessions than June’s meeting with him tonight. He’d be lying if he wasn’t anxious about it. Compared to a date with her, fighting a monster was easy.


	10. September

November 9th, 2019

The air in the restaurant was warm and smelled of Chinese food. Golden lights gave the place atmosphere, and the gentle talking of several groups of people floated around. The walls were dark and modern, giving the building a very sleek look. Stephen was busying himself with absorbing his surroundings as he walked into the restaurant. Anything to get his mind off the low-cut neck of June’s shirt.

“Are you… okay?” She asked him, one of her brows raised.

“Yeah, fine. Just trying to get my bearings and map exits. Never know when another dimension rift might open, you know?” Stephen said with a forced smile. While the threat of a monster slipping into this dimension was very real, the likelihood of it actually happening was slim to none.

“You need to relax. Stress can take years off your life, you know.” June shifted the weight of her purse, trying to make it more comfortable on her shoulder. The wait for a host was always a little awkward, and June wished the process would go a little faster.

 “Which one of us is the doctor?” Strange asked. June grinned at him.

“Fair point. But that doesn’t mean I can’t give you unsolicited medical advice.” She said. Stephen opened his mouth to speak, but a tall and lanky waiter rounded the corner and approached them.

 _Finally._ June let out a mental sigh of relief. These heels were already hurting her feet, so sitting down was currently at the top of her priority list.

“Two?” The waiter asked. Both Stephen and June nodded, and the waiter smiled. “Right this way.” His voice was pleasant and polite, but there was something inside of his eyes that hinted that he was possibly dead inside. June recalled her days of being a waitress, and related. He took them towards the back of the restaurant, and sat them in a booth made of dark wood with black padding on the seats.

They sat down and quickly told the waiter their drink orders, prompting the waiter to leave. This left them alone. _Steady yourself. You’ve got this,_ Stephen mentally coached himself. He had been practicing his bravado all day, trying to muster up enough courage to not feel awkward and uneasy. His act came undone the second he saw June, but he couldn’t let that discourage him. He hadn’t expected June to look so… nice. Not to say that he didn’t find her good looking beforehand, but June cleaned up really well. Her hair was in a bun, with the occasional strand sticking out of it, and was dressed in a black dress shirt, that a distractingly low neck line, and some slacks. He was used to seeing June in either t-shirts or her sorcerer robes, and the look had caught him off guard.

June was struggling with similar thoughts, although seeing Stephen in dress clothes wasn’t a new experience for her. The man dressed nice whenever he had the opportunity, and June always enjoyed the sight. There was something about dress clothes that made a man just that much more attractive. She adjusted herself in the seat, and looked back at Stephen. The silence was a little weird, and June was reeling to think of things to say. _Anything – just pick something already,_ she thought.

“Hey, I just… wanna thank you for agreeing to this.” She said, breaking the contemplative silence.

“Uh, it’s no problem. There’s no need to thank me.” Stephen replied as he unrolled his cloth napkin and sat it in his lap. June followed suit, and when she looked back up, ready to speak, their waiter approached the table, drinks in hand.

“Ah, thank you.” Stephen said to him as he sat the drinks down on the table.

“You’re welcome.” He replied in a voice that screamed “insincere.” The waiter quickly made himself scarce, and June simply raised her brows at his rushed exit.

“That man is beyond dead inside.” She commented. Stephen let out a laugh.

“Can you blame him? I wouldn’t want to work here either.” He admitted.

“It’s a pain that I know well. I waited in the diner down on 29th for a long while.”

“Benny’s? I heard that place had really good burgers.” Stephen had knowledge of the place, he’d passed it while out several times, and it had become just a blur in the landscape to him over time. Another faceless shop, somewhere he didn’t have time for.

“Yeah, that’s the one. They were alright, nothing I’d write home about.” June leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table. “But to wheel this conversation back around – I was thanking you for hanging with me.”

“You were, yes. I’m not sure why though, I mean, it’s not like spending time with you is a chore. There’s no need to thank me.”

“There is, though. You’ve stuck around longer than most people do, and you deal with my bullshit all the time, even when you don’t have to.” June inhaled, then let out a slow breath. “I guess what I’m trying to say is, thank you for being my friend. I don’t really deserve someone as cool as you in my life. So, thanks.” June met his blue eyes, and for a moment felt as if she was lost in them. No matter how often she studied his face, there was just something about his eyes the drew her in, like she was always seeing them for the first time.

Stephen was taken aback for a moment. _She’s seriously thanking me for being her friend?_ He had to stop his brows from furrowing – why did June think she didn’t deserve him? “You know that’s not true. If anyone doesn’t deserve someone around here, it’s me. I was such an asshole before…” He looked down at his hands. “… all this. _I_ don’t deserve _you._ ”

June smiled, her eyes soft. “You’re so full of shit. Just because you made mistakes in the past doesn’t mean you don’t deserve friends now.” She picked up her drink and took a sip of it quickly. “Let’s not turn this into a pity party. We’re here to have a good time.” She sat the drink down and smiled at him, the expression on her face a kind and almost hopeful one.

Stephen nodded. “You’re right. Let’s have some fun, while we have the chance.” He paused for a moment after speaking. _That… came off a little too suggestive,_ he thought. _I hope she didn’t take it like that._ Despite his worry, June didn’t seem phased by his words at all.

“Agreed.” She extended her fist towards him, and Stephen gently knocked it with his. Fist bumping was something they’d do on occasions, and it usually took the place of a handshake after making an agreement. He looked down at the menu that he’d been neglecting, and opened it.

“We better figure out what we want, otherwise we might invoke the wrath of Mr. Dead-Inside.” Stephen joked, and June let out a chuckle as she opened her own menu.

After a few second, he peeked up at June, who seemed to be struggling with choosing between a California roll or a tiger roll. Her mouth was pulled to the side in typically June-ish fashion, and with each small shift of her head, the silver ends of her hair managed to catch the light – the altered color seemed to make the hair for reflective than its natural counterpart. Stephen looked at her for a moment, absorbing every detail he could – the shape of her face, the wrinkle on the bridge of her nose when her brows furrowed, the slope of her shoulders and the way the shadows fell over her clavicle.

 _Beautiful,_ Stephen mused. A deep part of him stirred, and he felt as if his heart was weightless in that moment. He imagined how those soft pink lips would have felt against his, how warm she would be as he embraced her. She was, by all of Stephen’s definitions, a great candidate for a potential lover. Despite her arrogance, her hot headedness, and impatience, she was very supportive, gentle, empathetic, and quite frankly, damn sexy. Stephen hated himself for thinking of June that way – but there was just no denying his feelings about her.

 _I want to tell her._ The realization stunned him. There was no possible way he could ever tell her how he felt, the risks were just too great. At best, it would start a forbidden relationship that would just cause him large amounts of trouble and frustration, and at worst it would completely shatter the bond between them. _What if she doesn’t feel the same way?_ Despite there being a solid amount of evidence saying otherwise, there was always the possibility that Stephen was misinterpreting her signs. He’d just be making an ass out of himself if he told her about his feelings. _But what if she does feel the same way?_ Hope fluttered in his chest. There was a very real possibility of June reciprocating his affections, and the idea of a relationship with her was more tempting than sin.

But it wouldn’t be without problems. Student-Master relationships were forbidden in the Order, and with good reason. What would their training turn into if they became entangled in each other? _I’d be too caught up in her to actually teach her anything._ The thought saddened Stephen, but he knew it was true. On top of that, they’d have to deal with keeping their relationship a secret. Stephen knew from experience how hard that really was, and he wasn’t eager to go through that again. When he looked at the situation critically, the risks of a relationship with June currently outweighed the benefits.

With a mental sigh, he turned his attention back to his menu. He wasn’t anywhere near ready to tell June about any of this, and it was better that way. _But I’m not going to let that bring me down,_ Stephen vowed. _I’m going to make this night a good one._ He searched through his mind, trying to think of ways to make this night really special for the both of them.

It hit him suddenly, and he couldn’t keep the grin off his face. _Perfect,_ he thought. _She’s going to love it._

 

<…>

 

The wintery air nipped at Stephen’s face as he exited the restaurant with Juniper by his side. The night air was cold and harsh, and snow gently floated down from above.

“So, what do you want to do now?” June asked as they stood on the sidewalk. “The night is still young, and better yet, we don’t have to pay for a taxi to take us anywhere. The sky’s the limit!” She held out her arms for emphasis, and Stephen grinned.

“I have an idea. Follow me.” Stephen turned around and made his way towards the alley that was beside the restaurant. This is where they originally slinged from, to not draw excess attention to themselves or the portal. June followed him into the inky blackness without hesitation. Stephen quickly cast a portal, illuminating the shadows with its fiery glow. June squinted a bit at it as her eyes adjusted, and the portal grew to standard size. The other side of the portal was dark, and June could see a beach on the other side of it.

“Where are we going?” She asked.

“Trust me.” Stephen said as he stepped through the portal. June stepped through, and the smell of salt and open water assaulted her senses. The air here was actually warm – not summer warm, but June guessed it was maybe about 60 degrees. Much warmer than the below-freezing temperatures of New York. Large cliffs and rock formations shot up out of the sand, and continued all the way down the beach.  She looked out at the dark water behind them, and tilted her head a bit as Stephen closed the portal.

“Is this… the ocean?” She asked. The smell was familiar, although it was clearer than the polluted stench of New York’s coast.

“El Matador beach, to be more precise.” Stephen said as he looked out to the ocean as well. June blinked in surprise.

“Are you serious? We’re really here?” She asked. Stephen nodded and gave a small smile.

“Why wouldn’t we be really here?” He asked, stepping a few paces towards the water. “We’re sorcerers. Distance is meaningless. Don’t you use your sling ring to travel?”

“Well, yeah, but I really only sling to the Sanctum and short distances. I’ve never really done field trips with it.” She paused. “Like, discussing Nepal with Mom is the closest I’ve been to a cross-world sling.”

“Oh yeah, you had plans for Kathmandu today, didn’t you? Why didn’t you go?” He asked. Stephen hoped that June hadn’t cancelled her plans with May just for their date. _It’s not a date,_ he mentally corrected himself. June shrugged before pulling off her coat.

“She got called into the clinic today for some emergency surgery – someone’s dog ate a bunch of floss, I think.” She draped her coat over her arm and looked away from the ocean to examine the rock formations around them.

“That sucks.” Stephen replied, relieved that June hadn’t put her Mom aside for his sake. “So, what do you think of the beach?” He asked, stretching out an arm to motion to the water.

“Lovely. It’s been so long since I’ve been to a beach.” She looked back to Stephen. “It a shame the water’s cold, I’d love to wade in it.” Stephen looked back at the ocean for a second before speaking.

“Ah, well, we’ll just have to come back here in the summer.” He said, finding himself unable to make eye contact with June as he brought up the concept. “I can’t promise we’ll get the beach to ourselves, though.”

“Sounds great. We’ll make an event out of it.” June grinned. Stephen smiled back at her, finally finding the courage to look at her directly. He motioned to the far end of the beach.

“You want to walk, or are we just going to stand here?” He asked. June nodded, and the two began walking south along the coast. The sand was soft beneath their shoes, and as they walked, they left behind two lines of footprints. They walked in silence for a long while, simply enjoying the atmosphere and each other’s company.

Stephen had expected it to be awkward, like how he was around her earlier, but he felt very comfortable in the moment. _Why was I so nervous before?_ He pondered. _And why is this so easy suddenly?_ Perhaps he had finally warmed up to the concept of being on a date with her – he wasn’t afraid of making an ass of himself. _There was no reason for me to be afraid,_ he concluded. His nerves had finally been subdued, and he allowed himself to breathe and relax. _Everything is fine,_ he reminded himself. _This is nice._

“So, why bring me out here?” June asked after a few minutes of silence. “Not that I don’t appreciate the gesture.” She quickly added.

“I thought you’d like it. It’s a nice break from the city, for sure.” He said. “Besides, if I’m being honest here, I’ve always wanted to do this. You know, walk on a beach under the stars.” Stephen let out a laugh. “Hearing that out loud made me realize how stupid and cliché that is.”

“It’s not stupid!” June quickly protested. “It’s corny, sure, but I love it.” June grinned. “Besides, who hasn’t had a dream of a long walk on the beach with somebody? And you can’t really do it by yourself – that just makes you look sad.” She said with a chuckle.

“A fair point.” Stephen said. “Thank you for sharing this with me.” His voice was hushed. June passed him a quick look, her eyes soft and a small smile on her lips.

“No problem. Thanks for bringing me along.” She said. After another minute of silence, she spoke up again. “Hey, want to build a driftwood fire and hang out?”

“The smoke from that is poisonous.” He told her. “Not a good idea. But we can stop somewhere and sit for a bit, if you’d like.”

“Oh.” She said, her lips pursed. “But sitting rounds great. These heels were not made for walking.” She said with a laugh.

“Then why do you wear them?” Stephen asked. “You’re already tall as it is.” June was tall for a woman, being only a handful of inches shorter than Stephen normally. With her in heels, they were nearly the same height.

“Because I wanted to be cute, damnit.” She admitted. “And I never get to wear them. Which is a shame, because I love these.” Stephen simply raised his brows for a second and nodded. They pressed onward, and found some short, flat rock formations that would made decent chairs. Although the rocks weren’t very comfortable – they were hard and a little sharp in some places – June was grateful for the opportunity to sit down again. Stephen sat across from her, and simply watched as June bent forward and pulled her shoes off.

“Fuck these things.” She said.

“I thought you liked them?” Stephen asked, finding June’s sudden hatred towards her shoes moderately amusing.

“I like them as a concept, but actually wearing them is terrible. I take it all back.” She said as she placed the shoes beside her on the rock. “I should have brought a pair of emergency flats.”

“Why don’t you just grab your shoes out of your house?” He asked. With sling portals, leaving something at home wasn’t an inconvenience – it was so easy to make a small portal and just grab something from the other side.

“That… actually gives me a good idea.” June reached into her purse and pulled out her sling ring – a sorcerer never leaves home without one, after all- and slid it onto her hand. She opened a quick, small portal, about 2 feet in diameter, and stuck her arm in it. Stephen couldn’t get a good view what was on the other side of it.

June pulled her arm out of the portal, and with it came an entire guitar. Stephen blinked and let out a laugh as she reached in once more and pulled out a pick. She closed the portal with a wave of her hand and held her guitar, ready to play it.

“Alright, I’ll admit, that was not what I was expecting.” He admitted. June smiled.

“I thought it would be fun. It’s been a while since I’ve played for you.” June began to tune her guitar, strumming it and adjusting tuning pegs to get her desired sound. Playing guitar easily ranked as June’s favorite hobby, and she’d use any chance to play and show off her skills with it. Stephen enjoyed it, and the two often bonded over shared music tastes. June loved playing for Stephen and singing with him, it made her feel so _close_ to him. It was as if their souls harmonized just as much as their voices did. When they sang, she could feel the aura radiating from both Stephen and herself, and she knew he could feel it too.

June grinned as she hit a desirable note, and she shifted her hand to the frets and began to play. The notes danced through the air as her guitar echoed along the empty beach. The tune she played was very familiar to Stephen, but he couldn’t quite place it. He strained his memory to find what song it belonged to, but when June began to sing, it finally clicked for him.

“Do you remember the

21st night of September?

Love was changing the minds of pretenders

While chasing the clouds away…”

 _September. Earth, Wind, and Fire. 1978._ Stephen had never heard a guitar cover of _September_ before, but the song lent itself well to the instrument. He tapped his foot to the beat of the song, and when it came time for the next verse, he sang along with her.

“Our hearts were ringing

In the key that our souls were singing.

As we danced in the night,

Remember how the stars stole the night away…”

Stephen’s aura seemed to brush against June’s, and she had to suppress a shiver. The lines between them began to blur. Her hand strummed without thinking about it, the muscle memory putting her arm on auto-pilot. She looked at Stephen as they sang together, reveling in their connection. Her eyes took in every detail she possibly could, ingraining them into her memory – everything from how the stars shone in the sky, to how the pale moonlight illuminated Stephen’s handsome face. She knew that tonight was going to be something she remembered forever.


	11. Heartbreaker

November 15th, 2019

June was a woman of the summer. She was born in it, and if she had it her way, it would be hot all year round. Snow floated down from the grey sky, getting in June’s hair and making her feel marginally grumpy. _Fuck snow,_ she mentally cursed. _It’s useless, cold as all hell, and just gets everywhere._ The weather phenomenon in question crunched under June’s boots as she walked down a busy sidewalk, which was lined with small shops and the occasional café.

She carried two bags in her hand – one from a local bookstore, filled with saucy romance novels that May adored, although she’d never admit it, and one from a strange little occult shop -  the same one that June found the book of the Vishanti in. June had bought her sister a deck of tarot cards, and a set of quartz wands. The shopkeeper explained that they would “help her focus her magical energies,” but June knew it was all bullshit used to sell tourists overpriced rocks. April was into this stuff though, and Christmas gifts transcend personal bias.

She expertly dodged people who were walking her way, weaving around several small groups of people. When walking in New York, you had to be quick and light on your feet - otherwise you ran a serious risk of getting ran into. A nearby store was playing Christmas music over an external speaker, filling the air with its annoyingly catchy tune that everyone knew by heart. She passed by the store, the music gratingly loud in her ears – and she stopped for a second. She could have sworn she heard the distinct sound of a portal opening, but it could have just been the music mixed with people talking. She mentally shrugged and took a step forward, ready to continue on her way.

That’s when the screaming began.

June whipped around, dropping both of her bags. Her eyes grew wide with shock and dread as she saw the horror towering over the cars in the street. It was big, grey, and easily stood 20 feet tall. It looked like a strange mixture between a lizard and a praying mantis, complete with two folded arms that had a single, 6-foot-long blade starting at each of its wrists. It let out a piercing shriek as cars ran into its many thin legs, and it shuffled out of the way as drivers slammed onto their brakes and came to screeching stops.

 _Alright June, think. Small eyes, large antennae – it’s a feeler, not a seer. Avoid claws. Legs seem to be a weak point. Thorax underside looks soft._ She was running calculations in her mind as she ran towards the beast, ready to spring into action. _And most importantly, keep it away from civilians!_ Her hands sparked with orange magic as she rushed at the monster, and her mind quickly ran through the incantation to conjure a sword and a shield. The creature swiveled its head in June’s direction, and began to scramble towards her with a scream.

 _It wants the Book._ Monsters were attracted to the book of the Vishanti, and its raw power acted like a beacon for all things magical. It was as if June was wearing a neon sign that said “Eat me!” at all times. But never before had a monster specifically hunted her down like this – at least, she assumed it was here because of her. She had the beast’s full attention, and the distance between them was closed in a matter of seconds. The monster lashed out with one of its scythe-like claws, and June raised her conjured shield to block it, dropping down onto one knee so the blow didn’t knock her back.

In a normal battle, the claw would have harmlessly bounced off her shield.  But this claw tip went right through it, piercing the orange disc with a sickening noise of magic being broken – it sounded like someone was slowly tearing apart metal, and the sound was excruciating. It didn’t break through the shield, and the claw was trapped in it, the point of the blade dangerously close to June’s hand.

 _Shit, shit, shit!_ June threw her arm out, shaking the claw out of the shield, and whipped around, trying to get some distance between her and the monster. Her sword vanished, and in its stead, a long, curved arc of magic appeared in her hand – a bow to shoot with. The creature scrambled towards her on its 6 thin legs, but it skidded around a bit in the snow, bumping into stopped cars. It let out another scream, which was almost loud enough to drown out the screams of the civilians, who were desperately trying to escape the area.

June saw her chance – a stopped, empty car. With a strong jump, she leapt onto the hood of it and made her way to its roof. She quickly aimed her bow and pulled at an invisible string, and a bolt of orange lightning danced in her hand. She released the string, and the conjured arrow flew forward and hit its mark, right in the center of the creature’s chest. It staggered a bit, then continued to rush towards June. The distance between them was closing – she had to keep moving.

 _Stephen! I need Stephen!_ Her mind raced as blood roared in her ears. She sprinted down the wintery road, dodging abandoned cars, with the monster hot on her heels. The noise of sirens wailed in the distance, but the emergency responders wouldn’t be able to get their vehicles to the scene – the cars had created a pile up that stretched for a few blocks. There was no time to sling, the creature was fixed on her – and that’s where she wanted its attention to be. If it was focused on hunting her, then it would be too distracted to eat civilians. There was only one way to contact Stephen while keeping the creature busy: a telepathy spell.

<…>

The winter’s cold was kept comfortably at bay by the walls of the Sanctum Sanctorum. The cold sunlight filtered through the occasional window, and its usual silence seemed to create a presence of simultaneous peace and dread. 

Stephen sat, or rather, floated, in his study. He levitated a few feet off the ground with the Cloak’s magic. In front of him were several pieces of pure brass, which were also floating. Stephen’s eyes were closed, and his hands were making several motions in sequence as he focused his magical energy into the brass. There was the noise of bending metal, which was unpleasant, but it wasn’t enough to pull Stephen out of his trance. The hunks of metal began to be shaped, and Stephen clearly saw the end product in his mind: sling rings. He tilted his wrists and furrowed his brow as he focused, using all of his fortitude to imbue the metal with the magics necessary to allow for portals.

_Stephen! Help!_

The thought rang through his mind like a gunshot, and he let out a yell and fell to the floor. The hunks of brass hit the floor with dull thuds, and Stephen let out a groan. He felt the familiar touch of a telepathy spell in his mind, and he immediately recognized who it was.

 _June? What’s wrong?_ At the thought of her name, several emotions colored his mind. Joy, fear, love, unease – they were laid bare for June to see. Likewise, June’s emotions pulsed in the bond between them – Fear, anger, panic, desperation.

 _Monster! At Church and Thomas! No time, civilians in danger!_ Stephen and June’s shared mind flashed with images and concepts – the beast, the location, the fact that it was fixated on the Book. Stephen knew it all within a second.

 _On my way._ Resolve and anger steeled his mind – a monster, attacking June? Protectiveness roared up from within in, and he suddenly became very aware that their minds were still linked. Flattery and amusement hummed for a second on June’s end, but it was quickly replaced by fear as the beast used its thick, long tail to send a car flying towards her.

Stephen jumped up and pulled his sling ring from his sash, and quickly slung to June’s location. The cold air was a bit of a shock to his body, and the noises of screaming, sirens, and the monster screeching assaulted his senses. Stephen looked at the beast, magic sparking in his hands, ready to fight.

 _Roj-mal._ He immediately identified the beast, and dread filled his heart. These things were from dimension 1678, and they were not only powerful – they made magic of their own.  _Death touch._

The thought made both him and June freeze. This monster was an apex predator, and was an unstoppable force in its own dimension, all due to the magic that rested in its claws. Death touch was a spell that occurred in a small handful of known magical predators. Its name was quite literal – if you were hit by something with death touch in a vital area, death was near instantaneous.

 _Lives are on the line._ June’s worry poured over their mental link.

 _Keep your distance. Make sure it doesn’t touch anyone with those claws._ Stephen did his best to remain calm to reassure June, but he couldn’t hide the feeling of dread he had in his gut.

The Roj-mal didn’t even seem to notice Stephen, as its bulbous eyes kept fixed on Juniper. This was his chance – Stephen acted quickly, sending blasts of magic towards the monster. The light hit the Roj-mal and knocked it backwards, making it crush two cars underneath its weight. Its legs flailed helplessly as it struggled to right itself. June took the opportunity, sending several conjured arrows into the soft flesh of the Roj-mal’s underbelly. It let out a screech and flailed harder as purple blood leaked out of the arrow wounds.

The tail of the beast was long, and June wasn’t fast enough to dodge its swift blow. Pain exploded through their mental link as June was knocked off the car she was standing on, and it intensified when she landed on the pavement, her head hitting the concrete with a sharp ‘thwack!’ Stephen visibly staggered as the pain crossed into him due to the mental link, and spots appeared on his vision. June was disoriented, confused, and bleeding.

The noise of the monster righting itself onto its legs seemed far away in Stephen’s mind as he used the Cloak’s magic to quickly fly over to his comrade. Worry bounced between them as he rushed to her. June’s vision was blurred.

 _Occipital lobe damage. Concussion likely._ Stephen mentally registered her injury as he bent down to help her up.

 _Stephen. Stephen. Stephen._ June’s mind repeated his name as several blurred images of Stephen bent down towards her. In that moment, nothing else mattered. Their mental link resonated, sending their flooding emotions into each other’s mind. There was no monster, no screaming, no battle. For a moment, the only thing that mattered was that Stephen was here, and he was going to help her back up.  The thought of Stephen helping her sent warm waves of affection and attraction across their mental link, and they found themselves momentarily lost in the sensation.

The three Stephens morphed back into one as June stood up. Reality weighed back in on them – there was a Roj-mal on the loose, and they had to kill it. There was no time for rest, no time for worry, and there was definitely no time for getting wrapped up in each other. The decision to shove down those romantic emotions they felt was mutual.

 _Don’t talk about it._ June wasn’t sure if the thought was hers or Stephen’s, but it didn’t matter. The Roj-mal was back on its feet, and it roared at the pair of sorcerers.

 _Let’s finish this._ Stephen thought, and June nodded.

 _Let’s._ They both conjured up weapons – Stephen made a fiery whip, while June held a conjured bow. She attacked first, sending a volley of magical projectiles straight into the monster’s chest as it closed the distance between them. It was close – too close. Stephen lashed out with his whip as the monster raised its claws to strike at June, and he made the magical energy wrap around the blades, binding them. He used Cloak to fly up in the air, pulling the claws upwards with him. The monster screeched in fury and struggled against Stephen’s restraints, and June used the opportunity to send several magical arrows into its scaled chest.

The beast roared once more, this time in pain, and thrashed its tail and body wildly, trying to get its claws free. The Roj-mal swiveled its head towards Stephen, and flared its set of mandibles open as it hissed at him.

 _June! Finish it!_ Stephen couldn’t hold the creature for much longer, the physical strain of maintaining such a powerful binding spell was becoming too much, even for his fit body. June readied her conjured bow once more, taking aim at the beast’s head.

Then Stephen’s spell broke.

It all happened within the blink of an eye – the monster summoned all of its strength and tore through his spell, and with frightening speed, lunged upwards at Stephen. Surprise and panic filled both of their minds, and June let out an arrow towards the monster as it leapt towards Stephen, claws raised to strike. The arrow missed, flying right behind the Roj-mal’s head. The Cloak tried to pull Stephen out of the way, but it was too slow.

The creature plunged one of its massive bone claws right into Stephen’s chest, impaling him. Screaming, burning agony filled June’s mind, and both her and Stephen let out a scream in unison. Stephen struggled against the claw in vain, and then went limp. Nothingness filled June’s mind - the lack of Stephen’s presence was devastating, and she had never felt so alone in her entire life. The monster flicked its arm outward, sending Stephen flying. He hit the ground with a sickening thud, his body completely limp. June’s mind was spinning, trying to make sense of the situation. No matter how many scenarios ran through her head in a second – he’s just unconscious, the monster’s magic cancelled out the telepathy spell – there was no denying the reality that was weighing on her mind, crushing her under its weight.

Stephen was dead.


	12. I'm Not in Love

November 15th, 2019

_No. No. Nonononono._ Reality had slipped from June’s grasp. Her mind reeled and struggled to hold on to coherent thought, but all it could find was “no.” Stephen was dead. The Roj-Mal had impaled him. Tears welled in June’s eyes, and her chest burned with heartbreak. It was fascinating, how one could actually _feel_ a broken heart. June’s mind tentatively reached out towards him, reaching for their telepathic link, but only found itself confined within the walls of her own consciousness.

All June could do was stare as silent tears streaked down her cheeks. Gunshots ripped through the air, and the Roj-Mal screamed, snapping June back to reality. The police had finally entered the scene, and were progressing towards the Roj-Mal on foot, pumping the beast full of lead. The creature took a step forward with a snarl, and prepared to lunge.

_They’re going to die too._ The death touch that permeated from the Roj-Mal’s claws would give anyone it came in contact with a swift end. The weight of a thousand lives suddenly rested on June’s shoulders, weighing her down. _I’m the only thing stopping it from going on a killing spree._ The sheer weight of the responsibility that she now held nearly crushed her under its presence. There was no time to rest, no time to mourn. The beast was slinking closer to the police, occasionally being stunned by gunfire. Rage boiled up in June, and her grief turned into sheer hatred. _I’m going to kill you,_ she mentally hissed as she drew her conjured bow.

With a wild cry of grief and fury, June let lose a conjured arrow towards the beast with terrifying accuracy. It hit right in the center of the beast’s bullet-hole-riddled back. The Roj-Mal shrieked and slammed its tail on the ground, smashing a car with its strength. It whipped around and focused on June again, who drew her bow once more.

There was no slow walk towards her, no bullets to stun the beast. The police had stopped firing, in fear of hitting her. The weakened Roj-Mal lunged towards June with terrifying speed, and she took aim right at its open mouth.

The arrow let lose with a loud _crack,_ and it flew through the air with deadly force. There was a sickening wet noise, like a melon being squished, as it went right through the creature’s mouth and out the back of its head. The creature was in mid-leap when it died, and its lifeless body sailed through the air, carried by its momentum. It skidded into the ground with a wet grinding noise, and several cars were crushed under its weight. The body slid to a stop right in front of June, the Roj-Mal’s snout about a foot from touching her.

The victory was meaningless. The creature was dead, and so was Stephen. At the thought of his name, June dispelled her bow and sprinted towards Stephen’s lifeless body, giving off another cry of heartbreak. She skidded to a stop, sliding a bit on the wet snow, and knelt by his side.

_No. Not like this. There has to be a way._ June wasn’t going to let Stephen die like this, not while she was still breathing. She reached down and tore at his robes, intent on baring his chest so she could see the injury. She pulled at the blue fabrics and they quickly gave way, revealing a bloody mess of a wound. June had to fight the urge to vomit at the sight of it, and tears began pouring down her face again.

_You can do this. Focus._ She breathed deeply and did her best to remember the hand motions for a healing spell. Her fingers bent, and her hands flexed as she went through the motions, and she mentally recited the mantra for the spell. White energy sparked at her hands, and June’s heart leapt into her throat for a second. She quickly placed her hands on his chest, and channeled every single ounce of strength she had into the spell.

Healing someone wasn’t a pretty process, nor was it pleasant for the caster. As June healed him, she felt the wound in his chest as if it were her own. She gritted her teeth and poured more of herself into the spell. Footsteps were fast approaching, but June couldn’t tear her eyes off Stephen.

“Ma’am!” A man cried, June assumed he was a police officer. “You need to make way for the emergency responders!” His voice was deep and authoritative, but nothing he could do or say would ever move June from this spot.

“Let me do this!” She screamed, and her focus lapsed for a second, nearly breaking the spell. “It’s his only chance!” June pulled herself back into the spell, letting it consume all of her being. She felt his bones being repaired and set, the muscular tissue reforming, and the cardiac tissue being revived.

Her strength was fading, and June tried to stave off panic. His heart was nearly healed – the burning in her chest was enough to make spots appear on her vision as she came dangerously close to blacking out.

_Book, help me._ She silently pleaded. The Book had never helped her before, but it was June’s last reserve of magical energy. His heart was still healing slowly, and June knew she couldn’t maintain the spell for much longer. _Book. Please._

The beads around her wrist began to burn, and June let out a cry of pain. The Book began to glow a deep, jade green as the small runes that covered it emanated and intense light. She tore her mind away from the distraction and tried to put her focus back on the spell, but the burning on her wrist competed for her attention. Suddenly, she felt slightly rejuvenated. A small amount of strength found itself in her body, and June immediately channeled it into the spell. The burning of the beads had stopped, and the book ceased to glow. Her prayer had been answered.

_Thank you,_ she whispered to it mentally. Suddenly, June felt her heart- no, Stephen’s- start beating. June let out a cry and continued to channel the spell, willing the muscles around his chest to close.

It was too much. Despite the Book’s gift, she had spent everything she had. Her body and her soul had no more strength to spare. The spell broke, and June collapsed backwards onto the snowy asphalt. The blurry image of paramedics gathering around them filled her sight, and then she found herself swallowed up by the abyss.

<…>

_Pain. Chest on fire. Hard to breathe. Sound… beeping? Heart monitor. Open your eyes._

The light assaulted Stephen’s eyes, and he immediately regretted opening them. His eyes burned as they quickly adjusted. He looked around, and noticed the familiar surroundings of a hospital room. He had an IV in his arm, and based on the way the room was set up, he was either in the surgery wing, or he had been admitted. He looked over to his left, and his heart froze.

_June._ She was curled up in a tiny and uncomfortable chair, dressed in oversized pajamas, and was fast asleep. He noticed a gauze wrap around her wrist, resting underneath the chain of the Book.

_June._ Her name repeated in his head, and soothed him. _What happened…?_ He racked his brain to remember the battle, and it came to him in hazy bursts. _Roj-Mal. Civilians. Spell broke. Stabbed._

Stephen froze. A shaky hand went to his chest, intent on feeling if he still had a hole in his chest. The chest of his hospital gown looked full, and when he gently rested his hand over his heart, he winced with pain. _Hurts, but it’s there._ He brought his hand up to his neckline, and pulled at it, glancing down to his chest. Bandages were wrapped around his chest, compressing it and making it hard to breathe. They were slightly bloody. _When was the last time these had been changed?_

_I should be a dead man._ The thought made him freeze. The Roj-Mal had impaled him, and the magic of the death touch quickly ripped the life from his body. _But… how am I here?_ His gaze drifted back over to the sleeping form of June, and he began to put the pieces together.

_She saved me… but how?_ He ran through the possibilities in his head, and a memory stuck out to him: giving June the _Rejuvenatium._ It all clicked into place. _So that’s how she did it._ He rested his head back on the pillow and fought the urge to cough – breathing burned, coughing would probably be unbearable. While he was staring up at the ceiling, another question formed in his mind: _What time is it?_

He scanned the room for a clock, and quickly found one. _3:15._ He didn’t know if that was in the morning or in the afternoon – the room lacked windows, making it impossible to tell. _I have to see a nurse._ He glanced around, and found the remote for the TV resting on the nightstand. It was a dull brown and had a speaker on it, and at the very top was an orange “call nurse” button. With a shaking hand and a pained arm, Stephen reached out and grabbed the remote, and quickly pressed the call button. He laid the remote next to him on the bed, and rested back on the pillow once more, closing his eyes while he waited.

After a few minutes, there was a gentle knock on the closed door. Stephen had nearly fallen asleep, but the noise had brought him back to alertness.

“Come in.” He gasped. His voice was weak, and he hoped that it was loud enough to reach the nurse on the other side of the door. He glanced back at June quickly, afraid of waking her. The door opened slowly, and a young woman with dark skin peeked her head in.

“You called?” She asked. He nodded, and she took the cue to enter the room fully. She shut the door gently behind her, and approached the bed. “So, you’re finally awake, huh? How do you feel?” Her voice was sweet and soft, and she was speaking in a hushed tone.

“Like shit.” Stephen groaned. “What time is it?” He asked.

“It’s a little after 3 in the morning. It’s the 16th.” The news shocked Stephen – he’d been unconscious for longer than he expected. “Can I get you something? Water? I’ve also been cleared to give you gelatin, if you’re hungry.”

Stephen shook his head. “What happened to me?” His voice trembled, and each breath felt like fire in his chest.

“The story’s a little absurd, but based on what your girlfriend told us, it sounds like normal business for you.” She looked down at her clipboard, going over the notes.

“Oh, she’s not my girlfriend.” Stephen quickly explained.

“Whatever you say, honey.” She raised her brows as she spoke. “Shallow and wide puncture wounds over your bicep and on your back, just below the scapula. We stitched you up, the rest is up to your body. You have some intercostal muscles that are damaged, so try to take it easy.”

Stephen scoffed. “Easy? With my job?” The muscle damage did explain why his chest hurt so bad – each breath shifted the damaged muscles that surrounded his ribs.

“Hey, doctor’s orders. Your _friend_ here didn’t seem too keen on letting you return to duty. She’s spoken with doctor Hammond, and he gave her an earful about how dangerous your guys’ lifestyle is.” She turned her attention to the bag of saline that Stephen was connected to via IV, and then went back to her clipboard. “You were out a long time. We were worried that you might not wake up.” She commented.

“Sounds about right. That’d be the dark magics kicking my ass.”

“Dark magics?” The nurse sounded skeptical, and with good reason. “Sugar, that stuff is beyond me. Whatever you guys do with that voodoo magic is your business.” She said with a shake of her head.

“Am I cleared to leave?” Stephen asked, fighting the urge to cough once more. He wanted to get out of here, back to the Sanctum, where June could finish healing his wounds.

“Doctor Hammond wants to speak with you before you go in the morning, but I’d say you’ll be out of here by 11, maybe noon.”

“Alright. I assume he’s going to give me an earful, too?”

The nurse grinned. “I’d bet on it. So, are you sure there’s nothing I can get you?” She asked.

Stephen shook his head again. “No, thank you. I think I’m just going to sleep, honestly. You could say I’m _dead_ tired.” He grinned at his own dumb joke, and the nurse rolled her eyes.

“Funny. My name’s Sasha, by the way. If you need anything else, let me know.” She began to make her way towards the door.

“Wait.” Stephen quickly said. Sasha paused and looked at him. “Can you get a blanket? For June?” He asked.

Sasha’s eyes glanced to the sleeping girl in the chair, and she smiled. “Sure, sweetheart. I’ll be right back with that.” She said before leaving the room, closing the door softly behind her.

Stephen sighed and rested his head back against his pillow and closed his eyes. Tired didn’t cover it – he was _exhausted._ His body had been working overtime to dispel the magic attacking his system, as well as to repair itself. Thanks to June, it didn’t have much more to do.

He opened his eyes and looked at June, who was still sound asleep. Her breathing was deep and even, and its rhythm was healthy. _Has she been here the whole time?_ He wondered. _No, she’s changed into pajamas. She’d had to have gone home at some point. Or maybe May brought them to her?_ The thought made Stephen pause. _Did May and April visit me while I was out?_ His heart melted a bit at the mental image. _They do care._

He continued to stare at June, lost in thought. _But she cares the most._ She had brought him back to life, so Stephen was seriously indebted to her. He remembered her feelings of attraction towards him – or was it love? _No, it couldn’t be._ The thought of her loving him was absurd. _There’d be no way she’d fall for a guy like me. She deserves better._

He paused again. _Back at it with the self-deprecation, I see,_ he mentally commented. Making an effort to praise yourself and actually allow yourself to feel good about things was paramount to good mental and emotional health. Stephen tried to keep his self-talk as positive as possible, but it was certainly easier said than done.

_I’ll start here._ June being romantically interested in him made him glow with pride and joy, and he allowed himself to revel in those emotions for a moment. _She’s interested in me, of all people. I can’t believe it._ Part of him wanted to say that he didn’t deserve someone as wonderful as June, and he did his best to shove those negative feelings back down.

_I’ve saved the whole world, for Christ’s sake. I deserve a girlfriend,_ he told himself. It was still hard for him to believe – in his mind, he could never fully atone for his past sins, and felt that happiness was something that he hadn’t earned. But here he was, looking at June with a stupid grin on his face, feeling like the luckiest man alive. He had found his happiness, despite all odds.

Someone rapped at the door, pulling Stephen out of his thoughts. The door opened slowly, quietly, and Sasha emerged from behind it, a white hospital blanket in hand.

“Thanks.” Stephen said with a small smile.

“Don’t mention it.” Sasha replied as she made her way towards Juniper. She unfolded the blanket and gently draped it over the sleeping figure. June stirred a bit, but quickly went back to sleep. Sasha passed a quick smile to Stephen, and headed back out of the room. The door shut behind her with a soft click.

_There is no way that’s comfortable. She’s going to have such a crick in her back when she wakes up._ She was in a small, plush chair that didn’t look very comfortable, curled up and snoozing soundly. Stephen was still in disbelief that she was still here, by his side. His eyes softened. _It’s been a long time since somebody cared about me this much._

_I want her to know how much I care for her,_ Stephen decided. There would be consequences, of course, but he didn’t care anymore. He _needed_ to tell her, to whisper sweet nothings in her ear and spirit her off to some exotic land, probably Tahiti. The warmth would be a nice change of pace from the below-freezing air of New York, and the thought of seeing June in a swimsuit was… tempting, to say the least.

_But how?_ Delivery was critical. Perhaps he could take her to the beach again, or maybe even Paris… _No, I’ve got to give her something that only I can give her._ Any man could take June to France or California – if Stephen was going to confess, it had to be somewhere only he could take her, for maximum effect.

_Another dimension. That’s it!_ Dimension 1435 was simply stunning, and June had never experienced it. It was made up of wide grasslands, purple skies, and all kinds of exotic wildlife he could show her. It was perfect.

He wanted to elaborate more on his newfound plan, but sleep was clawing at his eyelids and making them heavy. His mind was fuzzy, and he found it harder and harder to focus as his body finally stopped resisting the sweet call of the dreamscape.

_Tomorrow, then._ He’d return to his planning soon. In the meantime, Stephen surrendered to sleep and began to get some well-deserved rest.


	13. Invisible Touch

November 16th, 2019

 

“So, I’m cleared to go?” Stephen asked. Doctor Hammond nodded, his sharp features casting shadows over his aged face.

“I’d say so. I’ll make sure the nurse brings you your discharge papers.” The old man checked Stephen’s file quickly, scanning it over with tired eyes.

“Thank god, I’m so ready to get out of here.” June nearly sighed with relief. She was sitting in the same chair that she had been sleeping in earlier, but had changed out of her pajamas. When she stood up, there was a distinct popping noise from her back as she stretched. “I’ve got to make a call. I’ll be right back.” She was reluctant to leave. The thought of being away from Stephen made a hot coal form in June’s belly – he still wasn’t fully healed, and with his lifestyle, he was liable to get himself hurt or even killed again.

She couldn’t keep bringing him back from the dead, and keeping Stephen out of trouble was borderline impossible. It was a tough job, but somebody had to do it. June mentally sighed as she exited the room. _What would you do without me?_ She thought, with a mixture of sarcasm and exasperation. She pulled her phone out from her pocket and quickly dialed her mother.

June had apparently lost her sling ring in the heat of combat, seeing as how she couldn’t find it on her person after coming to. _Lost to the abyss,_ she decided. Using Stephen’s sling ring was her next choice, but when she put it on and tried to summon a portal, all she could muster was sparks. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that Stephen’s sling ring was cracked, rendering it useless. Meaning that they had to get home the old-fashioned way.

Meanwhile, back in the hospital room, Stephen was finishing up his meeting with Hammond.

“I’ve got to say, that… er, magic… that you guys can do really does the trick. That girl managed to not only revive you, but she basically did all the work for us. All we had to do is stitch you back up.” He paused for a moment, adjusting his glasses. “Doctor Strange, I do have to warn you, however. You need rest. You shouldn’t get back out in the field for at least a few weeks. Take it slow, and easy. I know how demanding your… lifestyle is, but I’m going to have to stand firm on the rest.”

His voice was stern, but the words fell on deaf ears. Stephen had no intention on resting – how could he? Mystical threats to New York weren’t going to take a vacation simply because he had to call in sick. There was work to be done, and Stephen wasn’t about to be caught sitting on his ass while there was a city that needed saving.

“If I can’t fight monsters, how am I supposed to appease my adrenaline addiction?” He said with a small smirk. “But I can take a hint. I’ll consider it.”

Hammond rose his brows and blinked slowly, clearly done with Stephen’s shit. “Alright, well, I wish you the best, doctor.” He said. “A nurse will be in shortly.” Without waiting for a word from Stephen, he turned around and made his way to the door. Right before he pushed on it, it swung open, with June trying to enter the room. They both paused awkwardly, and June stepped away to make room for the doctor. He gave her a quick nod as he exited, and June entered the room.

“So, our ride will be here soon. You ready to get out of here?” She asked.

“Absolutely.” He said with a nod. He sat up in his bed with a groan, and rested his hand on his chest. His wounds didn’t like it when he moved. “So, I assume you’re going to finish the job when we get back to the Sanctum?”

“Might as well.” She said. “The sooner you get back on your feet, the sooner we get back to ghostbusting.” June grinned at him and flopped back into her chair.

“Wait, you said ‘ride.’” Stephen furrowed his brows. “Are we not slinging?” He asked.

“We would if we could. My ring is gone to who knows where, and yours is cracked. We’re just going to have to travel like normal people for once.”

“Unthinkable. Outrageous.” Stephen wrinkled his nose with mock disgust, then let out a chuckle. June rolled her eyes and smiled.

“I know. It’s just terrible.” June crossed her arms and leaned back in the chair. “Mom and April are coming to pick us up.”

“I see.” Stephen glanced around the room a bit. “So, do I have clothes I can change into, or am I going to have to wear the gown home?” He asked, sarcasm coloring his tone. June motioned to a duffle bag that was on the desk, off to the side of the room.

“While you were out, I had Mom babysit you while I ran to your apartment and grabbed you some things. Your sorcerer robes are back at your place, and to be frank… they’re ruined.” June admitted.

Stephen groaned. “Figures. And I doubt the council is going to let me take the Eye, just so I don’t have to get a new set from Segwa.”

“Segwa? Who’s that?” June asked, her head tilted.

“A master at Kamar-Taj who also happens to be a fantastic seamstress. Whenever a sorcerer needs robes repaired or made, they go to Segwa. I’ve taken your robes to her a few times.”

“So that’s where you take my robes when they rip. She’s… not exactly quick, is she?” June had gotten a tear down the back of her robes while sparring with Stephen, and he took the robe back to Kamar-Taj for repairs. What should have been a quick and simple fix took 3 weeks to get done. June would hate to imagine the wait Stephen would be facing as Segwa made an entirely new set of robes for him.

“Yeah… Looks like I’m going to be fighting crime in street clothes for a while.” He said while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

“It’s a good thing Cloak doesn’t clash with t-shirts and jeans, right?” June asked teasingly. Stephen rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to speak, but a knock at the door cut him off.

The door opened, and Sasha entered the room, with a small stack of papers in her arms. She closed the door behind her, and grinned at the two.

“So, are you glad to be getting out of here?” She asked Stephen.

“Very.” He said with a nod. Sasha walked up to Stephen’s bedside, and rested his discharge papers on the nightstand.

“Well, lets get this IV out of you, and then I can let you go.” She said as she turned her attention to the catheter in Stephen’s arm. Sasha wasted no time, and began to pull the tape off his arm. The IV followed, and when it was removed, Stephen’s brows furrowed with pain for a split second. Sasha quickly pulled a bandage out of her pocket, and applied it to the injection site.

“There, good as new.” She said with a grin.

“Thanks.” Stephen said, rubbing his cubital fossa gently, trying to soothe the soreness from the IV.

“Alright, well, I hope you guys have a great day. And take it easy, doctor Strange. I don’t want to see you back in here for a while.” Sasha looked between June and Stephen, and then got up to leave. The door closed behind her with a soft click.

“Mind if I get some privacy? Being able to feel the breeze is making me a bit uncomfortable. I’m ready for pants.” Stephen said.

“I bet.” June said as she made her way towards the door. “I’ll be outside. Just let me know when you’re done.” She told him before exiting the room.

Stephen turned to the side, resting his legs over the edge of the bed, and stood up. His legs were a little sore, but he managed to stand and walk towards his bag without any problems. He unzipped the back bag and began to examine the outfit that June had picked out for him.

First, he pulled out plain black shirt, a pair of jeans. Then a grey hoodie – which made him wonder: _Where is my coat?_ He didn’t waste time pondering on it, and continued to sift through the bag, pulling out clothes. He smiled when he pulled out his compression gloves – his hands had been bothering him, and the fact that June thought to pack them warmed his heart a bit. Next came some socks, and June had even managed to pack in his grey tennis shoes. He paused as he pulled out the last bit of clothing – his underwear.

_Well, guess June now knows that I’m a boxer-briefs guy,_ he thought as a faint shade of rose colored his cheeks. The thought of June getting underwear out of his dresser embarrassed Stephen and made him want to squirm. The invasion of privacy got under his skin a bit, but a thought came to him: he’d do the same for her, and he wouldn’t think anything of it. _It’s just underwear, Stephen. She doesn’t care,_ he reminded himself.

He untied his robe with shaking hands, and winced every time his chest moved. “Fuck…” He breathed as he bent forward to put on his underwear and pants. The pain wasn’t unbearable, nothing that couldn’t be tamed with ibuprofen, but it did make getting dressed interesting. He dressed slowly, making each movement with care. As he began to pull his shirt on over his head, he found himself gritting his teeth. With a grunt, he quickly pulled the shirt down over his chest. _I can’t wait to get these healed,_ he thought.

The thought of healing himself crossed his mind, and he recited the mantra for a healing spell in his mind. His fingers sparked with white, but he was still too weak to sustain the spell. _Damn it,_ he mentally cursed. He let out a sigh, and made his way towards the door. He opened it, and peeked out, finding June leaning against the wall next to the door.

“You finished?” She asked. She held her phone in her hand, and glanced at it, as if reading something.

“Yeah.” Stephen said with a nod.

“Good, our ride’s here.”

“Thank god, let’s get out of here.” He stood to the side and held the door open for June, who entered the room with a small “thanks.” June quickly grabbed his now-empty duffle bag, and she made her way towards the small closet in the room. She opened it, and pulled out a backpack – Stephen assumed it held her pajamas. He grabbed his discharge papers and gave June a quick nod, and the two silently left the room, eager to face the outside world once more.

 

<…>

 

“Stephen, honey! It’s great to see you!” May cried out as Stephen opened the back door of the green car. Her voice was enthusiastic and chipper as always, and it reassured Stephen. “You gave us quite the scare back there.” She commented as Stephen slid into the seat.

“No shit.” June said as she got in on the other side of the car, bags in tow.

“Ah, yeah, sorry about that.” He apologized sheepishly. He closed the door, grateful to get out of the cold winter air. For all of June’s insight and preparedness, she managed to somehow forget both a coat for herself and for Stephen. Their hoodies didn’t do much to keep the chill out, but it was better than nothing.

“It’s not like you have to apologize for dying.” June said.

“So, if June brought back the dead, does that make her a necromancer?” April asked, peeking at the two of them from the front seat.

“It’s a little different than that…” Stephen started.

“Don’t listen to him. I’m actually the new lich queen. I’m raising a dead army.” June replied in her signature deadpan snark. April gave her a small grin, and then returned her attention to her phone. A few minutes of silence in the car passed, only being broken by May occasionally cursing, which is par for the course when driving in NYC.

“Hey, thanks for bringing me these clothes, by the way.” Stephen quietly told June.

“No problem.” She replied with a soft smile. Stephen passed her a quick grin before rubbing his eyes. “Fuck, I’m tired.”

“Then go to sleep. You’ve got at least a half hour to sleep in this traffic. Get some rest.” June told him.

Stephen wanted to protest, but the thought of a nap was too tempting. He leaned his head back against the headrest and closed his eyes, hoping that some rest would do his tired body good.

 

<…>

 

_Home, sweet home,_ Stephen thought as he entered his apartment. The familiar smell soothed him, and the sensation of being home once more was unexpectedly comforting. June followed him inside, and gently tossed his empty duffle bag onto his black futon. Stephen followed suite by unzipping his hoodie and tossing it onto of the bag.

“Let’s get to business, then.” Stephen said, his voice touched by his usual authoritative tone. June raised a brow questioningly, waiting for Stephen to explain himself. “I need you to finish healing me. I have to regain my strength.”

“Sure, man.” June replied. She rolled her shoulders a bit, loosening her body and began to summon the Book’s strength to cast her magic, but the whole process came to a grinding halt as Stephen pulled his shirt off.

June’s breath caught in her throat for a second, and she struggled not to blush. The man was _cut._ Most sorcerers were muscular and fit, considering that the body had to be in good shape in order to have the strength needed for spells, but Stephen’s body had caught June off guard. Sure, she’d seen his bare chest before, but him being fully shirtless like this was a new, almost unsettling, experience. She cleared her throat awkwardly, and turned her attention to the gauze pads on his chest, right above his heart.

Stephen began to gently pull at the tape that held the pad to his chest, gritting his teeth as the sensitive flesh was pulled on. The bloody pad dropped to the floor, and June grimaced at the sight of his wound. It was a mess, with black blood and painful-looking stitches holding it together.

“Damn…” June breathed.

“Yeah, looks about as good as it feels.” Stephen said. He turned his back towards June, revealing the pad that was covering his scapula. “Can you get this one?”

“Sure.” June said as she approached him. “I’m sorry, this might hurt a bit.”

“Do it quick, like a bandage.” Stephen instructed. June nodded, even though Stephen couldn’t see her. She pinched the edge of the medical tape that held the pad against his skin, and in one quick motion, ripped the tape from his body, revealing a wound that matched the one on his chest.

“Gaaah!!” Stephen let out a cry of pain, followed by a hiss as Stephen clenched his jaw. “That felt great…” He said sarcastically. His breathing was deep, and he rubbed a hand over his face. “Whenever you’re ready.”

“Right.” June steadied herself again, reaching out towards the Book with her spirit, and began to channel the Book’s energy to create magic. Her hands sparked and glowed with white healing energy, and June rested her hands just an inch above his wound. Both June and Stephen let out a gasp as the healing process began. Stephen felt his wound burn, and sweat began to dot his brow as he endured the pain. June was feeling a similar reaction, and her breathing was labored and her hands trembled. Her shoulder blade felt like it was on fire, but she couldn’t quit just yet.

She felt the felt the flesh knitting back together, and with each second she endured it, the closer Stephen was to being healed. He let out a gasp as the wound fully closed, and June broke the spell with a sigh of relief. She doubled forward for a second, resting her hands on her knees, and took several deep breaths as the burning faded from her back.

“How’s it look?” Stephen asked, turning his head around in a useless attempt to catch a glimpse of it. June stood back up, and rubbed her shoulder gently.

“Much better. We need to remove the stitches.” June said. “That’ll be easy enough.” She made a few quick motions with her hands and summoned a quick telekinetic spell, and used her magic to untie the knots at the end of the stitches, and pulled the string through, out of his skin. The thread was black and bloody, and June made it float over to the sink, where it dropped against the metal without a noise.

“That felt lovely…” Stephen commented sarcastically. He turned around to face her, so she could heal the wound on his chest.

“I bet. And this one is probably going to feel even better.” This wound was a bit bigger, and required more stitches than the one on his back. June let out a shaky breath as she summoned more healing magic, and began the process all over again.

This time, healing him was unbearably slow. Every second that passed by made June weaker and weaker, and the pain was enough to make her short of breath. Stephen was struggling similarly, as he was clenching his hands tightly to help deal with the pain. After an agonizing two minutes, the process was finished. June stumbled backwards a bit as she broke the spell, and Stephen let out a groan. Sweat gave both of their brows a slight sheen, and they were both breathing heavily.

“Thank god that’s over.” Stephen sighed.

“I don’t know how much more of that I could have took. You made this healing crap look easy back at the Sanctum, how did you do it?” June asked as she wiped her brow with the back of her hand.

“Your wounds were minor, and no offense, but I’m a bit tougher than you are.” He said with a cheeky smirk.

“Turd.” June shot back. Stephen let out a chuckle, then looked down at his now-healed wound. The stitched still needed removed, and the puckered and jagged line the injury had left made him frown.

“Well, guess that’s another scar for the collection…” He muttered as he ran his hand over the raised flesh.

“Ah, don’t worry about it.” June said, resting a hand on her hip. “Scars are hot.” June paused for a moment after speaking, mentally kicking herself. _Stupid, stupid, stupid! How could you say that?!_ She pursed her lips awkwardly.

“It’s true, chicks dig scars.” Stephen responded casually, not missing a beat. June let go of the breath she was holding, thankful that Stephen didn’t dwell on her admission. He lifted his hands and used a telekinetic spell to remove his stitches, just like how June did a few minutes earlier. He dropped the bloody string in the sink as well.

“Feel better?” Juniper asked, arms crossed and a small smile on her face.

“Never better.” Stephen replied as he rolled his shoulders, loosening his chest and upper back. He bent down and picked up his shirt, and quickly put it back on, much to June’s disappointment. Stephen was eye candy, and June found herself eager to see the sight of his shirtless form once more. “Gimmie a sec.” He said as he pivoted around and went into his bedroom for a second.

June walked over to the kitchen and leaned against the counter, and ran her fingers through her hair. The fact that Stephen was alive was still surreal to her. _He should be dead,_ she thought. _I’ve played god._ The thought didn’t soothe her – upholding the natural order was one of the tenants of being a sorcerer, and she just broke that rule into a thousand pieces. She didn’t regret it, however. Losing Stephen simply wasn’t an option.

“Sorry about that.” Stephen exited his room, with a glittering sling ring in his hand. “Word of advice: always keep a spare.” He said as he approached June.

“Noted. Can we go back to the Sanctum, so I can get a new one?” She asked.

“That’s what I had in mind.” He said with a nod. Stephen turned around and began to make circles with his ringed hand, using the sling ring’s power to open a sling portal. The orange sparks hissed and snapped, and filled the room with a warm glow. Inside the portal, the foyer of the Sanctum was visible. Stephen stepped to the side and motioned to the portal. “After you.”

June smiled at him and entered the portal without a word, and Stephen followed her closely behind. The familiar magical air of the Sanctum soothed them both – this place was another home to the both of them. Stephen closed the portal behind them, and looked around.

“Cloak?” He called out, his voice echoing in the large room. They waited for a few seconds, but there was no response. “Odd...” Stephen murmured.

“Something’s… not right.” June whispered to him. He nodded, clenching his hands into fists.

“You’re right. Something’s wrong.” They both looked around the room, eyes scanning for any sign of a disturbance, but found that everything was in order. The noise of footsteps upstairs made Stephen and June shoot a quick glance at each other. Dread filled the air as they came to the same realization: there was an intruder.


	14. Immigrant Song

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody! Thanks for reading! Did you know that Hands Dealt has a tumblr blog, where you can see character art, behind the scenes drafts, and get updates notices? http:// hands-dealt.tumblr . com

November 16th, 2019

 

Stephen and June reflexively took battle stances, with magic crackling up their forearms. The noise of footsteps came from upstairs, and seemed to grow louder with each step. He passed a quick look to his apprentice, who nodded at back at him, silently communicating that she was ready for anything.

“Come on out!” Stephen yelled. There was no need for subtlety here, the intruder absolutely heard Stephen call for Cloak just a few seconds ago. A brief moment passed, before the intruder called out from upstairs.

“Strange? Is that you?” Juniper and Stephen instantly relaxed – the voice was booming and serious, and was immediately recognizable as Araav’s voice. The man in question slipped out from the hallway that lead to Stephen’s study, draped in his traditional and trademark purple robes. Araav’s face was usually stoic, but for a second, it looked as if Araav had seen a ghost. “You’re supposed to be dead.” He said, his voice soft as he digested the information before him.

“You know I always have a few tricks up my sleeve.” Stephen commented, crossing his arms. He knew that he was in deep trouble. Defying the natural order is a cardinal sin among the Order, and by reversing death, Stephen’s existence was the biggest sin of all. “What are you doing here?”

“We… the council, that is… felt you die. The shift in the energies of the universe couldn’t be ignored. I came here to watch over the Sanctum and retrieve Juniper, to take her back to Kamar-Taj.” He explained, regaining his composure as he spoke. His white dreadlocks where wrapped up in a ponytail, and they swayed with each movement of his head.

“Take me to Kamar-Taj? What?” June asked, stepping forward.

“You can’t be taught by a dead man, June. You’d have to go to Kamar-Taj to continue your training.” Stephen explained. Araav nodded.

“He speaks the truth. You’re still too dangerous to be left unsupervised.” He added. Araav turned his head to Stephen. “You have much to explain, master Strange.” His eyes narrowed a bit. He wasn’t upset that Stephen was alive – far from it, actually, but he had to put on a show. Allowing Strange and his apprentice to continue backsliding simply because Stephen might be the One wasn’t an option at this point – Deyman, Bao, and Shane were all growing tired with Stephen’s lack of consequences. If they were further provoked, Araav could be potentially be kicked off of the council for playing favorites.

“I know, I know…” Stephen rubbed the back of his head. He was determined to keep June out of this for as long as he could, in order to keep her from punishment.

“I did it.” June spoke up, and Stephen nearly choked. “I brought him back to life with a healing spell after I killed the Roj-Mal.”

 _There goes that plan,_ he mentally commented. _Damn you June, and your big mouth too._ Araav raised his brows for a second, and digested the information.

“So, you’re the one who broke the primary law of sorcery?” Araav’s voice was low and dangerous. He was hoping to intimidate June and leave her off with a warning, but this offense was too severe for just a slap on the wrist. _More extreme measures of punishment will have to be taken,_ he thought.

“June, stay out of this. Araav, it was my fault. I’m the one who taught her the spell-“ Stephen began.

“Enough, master Strange.” Araav interrupted. “You know that we have rules in this Order. What were you doing, teaching your apprentice such advanced healing magics?”

“It wasn’t him.” June cut in. “It was the Book. It helped me.” She said. Her hands clenched into fists, and she gazed up at Araav with defiance in her eyes. “So, don’t punish him for my actions.”

“You mean your _mistake?_ ” Arrav asked.

“Excuse me? Saving Stephen was not a mistake!” June raised her voice as she spoke. “The fact that you’re considering punishing anyone for something like this is, quite frankly, bullshit.” She motioned towards Araav, waving her arm in anger.

“June!” Stephen exclaimed. “Mind the tone!” He rested a hand on June’s shoulder, and she immediately brushed it off, letting her anger get the better of her.

“It’s not wise to disrespect a council member, young sorceress.” Arrav remained cool, a mountain against June’s crashing wave of sudden emotion.

“No, damn it. I’m not going to be guilted into admitting that saving you was a mistake.” June said. “What was I supposed to do, just let him die?”

“Yes. That was nature’s way.” Araav plainly stated. Stephen glanced up at Araav, a look of disbelief on his face, and then he glanced to June.

“I can’t believe you would say something like that.” She hissed at him. June’s eyes blazed with a mixture of fire and pain. She was being forced to considered the alternative – a life without Stephen. She had to imagine what would have happened if she hadn’t saved him, just for the sake of the council’s rules. _Life without you…. Is not an option,_ she concluded. Just the thought of being without him made pain rip through her soul. _No. There would be no way._ “You’re so full of shit.” June spat at Araav.

“June! Stand down! I am your _master,_ listen to me!” Stephen hissed.

June whipped her head around and passed Stephen a glare. “Stay out of this, Stephen.” She growled.

Stephen reached out and gripped her arm, trying to root her into his presence and words. “June! Stop this! You’re going to get yourself in so much trouble!” He yelled.

“Ms. Jones, I would measure your next words _carefully._ I can’t let you so brazenly disrespect me without retaliation.” He warned.

“Why? Because they’re going to hurt your feelings?” June snarled, completely disregarding Stephen and turning all her attention back to Araav. “I’m calling you out on your bullshit. It’s easy for you to sit at your fancy desk all day, dealing with piddly-shit problems in Kamar-Taj, while you leave Stephen and I to deal with the _real_ shit out here! You’re a coward who won’t come join the front lines, and because of your lack of desire to assign more sorcerers to this Sanctum, Stephen fucking _died!”_ June was full on yelling at Araav at this point. “If we had some actual back-up to deal with these problems, Stephen would have probably survived!” She would wave her arms for emphasis occasionally as she yelled.

“God damnit, June!” Stephen yelled.

Araav let a moment of silence pass, and allowed June to finish her rant. “Juniper Jones.” He started, his arms crossed and his stance firm. “I can’t let this disrespect go unpunished.”

“Araav, please reconsider.” Stephen begged.

“Master Strange, you know the rules as well as I.” Araav turned back to June. “I challenge you to Jadu Nirnaya. Tomorrow at dawn.” His voice was final and commanding, and Stephen gulped.

“Jadu… what?” June whispered.

“You haven’t explained Jadu Nirnaya to her, Strange?” Araav asked, a brow raised. “I’ll leave you to that, then. Seeing as how everything is in order here, I must take my leave and report this to the council.” Araav pulled out his sling ring and quickly made a portal back to Kamar-Taj. “By the way, you’ll find the Cloak of Levitation back in its case.” He said curtly before stepping through the portal and closing it behind him.

Silence stretched out and filled the air, and Stephen and June simply looked at each other for a moment.

“I can’t believe this…” Stephen huffed, turning away from June. “You just had to open your big mouth!”

“What was I supposed to do, just let him go? He insulted us, Stephen! I couldn’t just sit there and do nothing! How dare he imply that saving you was a mistake!” She yelled. Stephen whipped around and pointed at June.

“Don’t yell at me, Juniper!” He snarled. June paused, it was unlike Stephen to refer to her by her real name, especially in anger. “I appreciate what you did for me, but don’t ruin it by getting yourself killed in Jadu Nirnaya!” A moment of stunned silence passed between them, leaving June unable to speak and leaving Stephen to turn his back on her once more. He let out a sigh, then turned back around to face her, mouth open to speak, but then he closed it once more.

He stepped forward and grabbed her forearms, pinning them to her body. “June, you’re being an idiot! Jadu Nirnaya is going to damn near kill you! You don’t understand the danger you’re in right now!”

“What even is Jadu Nirnaya?” June asked as Stephen let her go. “You haven’t explained that to me, and now you’re telling me it could kill me?” She snapped, fear filling her voice.

“Jadu Nirnaya is a sorcerer’s honor duel, June.” Stephen began, resting his hands on his hips. “You and Araav will face off in a one-on-one sorcerer’s duel.”

“Oh. So, I have to kick Araav’s ass, then? That’ll be easy enough with the Book.” June threw up some impromptu bravado to hide her fear. She knew Araav was going to smite her into next week, but she wasn’t about to admit that she was afraid of him. 

“You don’t understand! Araav is going to beat you until you lose consciousness, June. Do you understand what that means? I don’t know if I can heal that kind of brain trauma, if he hurts your head!” He ran his hands through his hair, panicked.

“What do you mean?” June asked, stepping forward and lightly gripping Stephen’s arm, trying to gently reassure him that she’ll be okay.

“If you’re knocked unconscious, that’s baseline neurological damage. You’ll have a concussion at best, and permanent brain damage at worst. I don’t know if I can heal that kind of damage, Juniper.” He looked at her, finding his fear mirrored in her violet eyes. June released his arm and looked down at her feet for a second, processing her options.

“I guess I could always pretend to pass out, so he doesn’t really knock me out.” She said softly, looking up at him. “Look, I’m sorry I got myself into this mess, but there’s nothing I can do about it now. We just have to deal with it.”

Stephen sighed. “I don’t want to just ‘deal with it.’ June, you’re going to get hurt. Badly. And there’s nothing I can do to intervene and stop it.” He spoke softly, his voice laced with fear and worry.

June smiled weakly at him. “Hey, we’re assuming that I’m going to lose. The Book will give me enough power to at least give Araav some scars to remember me by.” She said. Stephen gave her back a small smile, and stepped forward, quickly embracing her in a hug.

June wrapped her arms around him, and rested her head on his chest, absorbing the moment. She could feel her heart hammering in her ears, and she found herself lost in the sensation of his powerful arms, the faint scent of his woody cologne that he had applied the day before, and the soft feeling of heartbeat beneath his chest. The hug lasted for only a few second, but it felt like a blissful eternity to June. When Stephen finally released her, June felt a little light-headed.

“June, it’s going to kill me to see you get hurt tomorrow.” He admitted softly. Juniper looked up at him, and nodded.

“If it’s worth anything, it’s not like I’m looking forward to it either. But what’s done is done.” She paused for a moment, and tugged on her hoodie sleeves for a second. “How can you prepare me for tomorrow morning?” She asked him, fire in her eyes. She might be in for an ass whooping tomorrow, but she was determined to give Araav a run for his money. Stephen looked down at her, his eyes hard.

“Follow me out to the courtyard. We’re doing drills.” He said, his voice commanding, and quite frankly, incredibly attractive to June. It seemed to overflow with protectiveness of her, and the thought left June internally squealing in delight, although she would never admit it. Stephen walked towards the court yard, motioning for June to follow him, and she fell in line behind him with a strange anticipation filling her stomach.


	15. Achilles' Last Stand

November 17th, 2019

 

            “So, this is going to help me focus my abilities?” June asked as she picked up the cup of mysterious green tea. She was sitting in Stephen’s study, enjoying a breakfast of white rice before her day began. The sun hadn’t risen yet, and parts of the Sanctum were as dark as shadow. But the study was well lit, the lamps casted everything with an orange glow.

            Stephen nodded. “It has magical properties that will help align your chakras and amplify your chi.” He stated plainly before taking a bite of his own rice. June put the cup up to her lips and took a quick gulp, and nearly choked on the drink.

            “Gah! It’s terrible!” She said between coughs. June wiped her mouth, while Stephen laughed.

            “I never said that it tasted good.” He said while motioning to her with his chopsticks, which he eagerly returned to his bowl, so he could continue eating. “I just thought it’d be funny to see your reaction.”

            “I hope it was worth it, turd.” June said as she frowned at the drink. She pinched her nose and took another quick swig. Being unable to smell it helped a lot, and it made it much easier to stomach. “Do I have to drink all of this?” She asked.

            “You don’t have to, but it’s recommended.” Stephen replied. “You’re going to want all the help you can get today.”

            “Don’t remind me.” June said dryly. She was dreading today – her fight with Araav, their Jadu Nirnaya, was going to be terrible. But she couldn’t afford to look at it with a heavy heart, if she was going to have any chance of surviving the encounter, she was going to need to stay positive and confident in her abilities.

            The duo sat in silence as they both ate their breakfast. June’s mind should have been focused on her fight, and she should have been figuring out ways on how to defeat an opponent that was so beyond her skill level that it wasn’t even funny. Instead, she found herself able to focus on only one thing: the hug that she and Stephen had shared last night.

            She wanted to talk about it. To tell him how much she loved it, how safe she felt in his powerful arms, how much she adored him in general, but whenever she opened her mouth to speak about it, no words formed. How could she say anything about it? Part of her worried that bringing it up would only make things awkward between them, or potentially ruin the entire experience. With a mental sigh, she resigned to shelf the conversation for another time. She picked up the cup of tea once more, and gave it another reluctant sip. _Nasty,_ she thought as she wrinkled her nose in disgust.

<…>

            It was time. The cold light of dawn stretched out over the courtyard of Kamar-Taj, which was packed to the brim with students and masters. The noise of the conversations everyone was having was almost deafening, and the electric energy in the air was contagious – even June felt like she was ready to fight, as she fed off the excited aura of the crowd.

There was an empty circle that everyone was crammed around, where June and Stephen stood at one end, with Araav at the other. At Araav’s sides were the other council members, all of whom, besides Deyman, looked grim.

They knew that June was about to get a beating, and that it wasn’t going to be pretty. Araav didn’t look enthusiastic at all about the situation - if anything, his stiff body position made him look nervous, while his normally stoic eyes held a hint of regret to them. Despite this, he still looked intimidating as all get-out. He didn’t _want_ to punish June like this, but there were laws to the Order, ones that had to be upheld.

The cold nipped at June, who was in a tank-top and a pair of traditional sorcerer lower robes – or as she called them, “wizard pants.” Stephen rested his hands gently on her nearly-bare shoulders, which made June blush. There was a special energy, almost like electricity, when they touched, as their astral selves interacted and brushed against one another. There was a certain intimacy to when two sorcerers touched, which is why they didn’t do it often, outside of combat situations.

“You’ve got this.” Stephen encouraged her. “Give him something to remember you by.” He whispered in her ear. June had to suppress a blush and a shiver.

“You know I will.” She whispered back confidently, even though her insides were screaming at her to turn tail and run away.  Stephen gently squeezed June’s shoulders before stepping back into the crowd.

Araav stepped forward and threw off his lose robe, revealing a toned and heavily muscled body. _Showoff,_ June mentally commented at the display. Araav dropped into a fighting crouch, taking the horse stance, and June did the same, entering her traditional tiger stance. The crowd grew deathly quiet as they observed the two fighters, sizing each other up.

Silence filled the air, and pressed down on June. Her blood was hot and pounded hard in her ears, and it felt as if she had lightning in her bones. Her whole body tingled with magical energy as she prepared for combat. The book of the Vishanti dangled from her left wrist, and June was acutely aware of its presence.

 _Help me,_ she begged to the Book. There was no immediate response. _Please,_ she asked again, desperate for its assistance. Still nothing.

Araav lunged forward and attempted the first strike, a simple but powerful kick. June rolled out of the way and gave him a quick jab to the side before jumping behind him.

Whipping around, Araav threw a punch towards June, and it made its mark and connected to her face with a crunch. The crowd gasped, and June stumbled backwards, stars in her eyes.

 _Holy shit, he’s not playing._ Her jaw felt like it was on fire, and she tasted blood in her mouth. She shook her head for a second, but recovered quickly. Araav threw another punch, but June dropped into a crouch and threw a fist into his stomach. Her fist connected with muscle, and Araav didn’t even flinch from the impact. _Oh shit._

She quickly rolled to the side before Araav could kick her, and June pulled up two spellshields, one over each forearm. Araav took the opportunity and summoned a spectral bow staff made of crackling orange energy. He took a few swings, cracking the staff against June’s shields with terrifying force. With each hit, the sound of magic smashing against magic rung out like a whip crack, filling the air.

June staggered backwards against the assault, and retaliated with a shield bash, which succeeded in knocking Araav’s mighty form back a few feet. She then quickly lashed out with the edge of a spellshield, slashing Araav across his bare chest. Blood was splattered outward, some getting onto people in the crowd.

Araav snarled and changed into mantis form, dispelling his bow staff and jabbing at June with fingers that cracked and sparked with magical lightning. His strikes were quick as cobra bites, and June struggled to block them with her spellshields.

 _Time for offense,_ June thought. _Clearly this blocking thing is getting me nowhere with his attacks. I have to make my own opportunity._ Araav struck again, and June flung her arm outwards, smashing his hand away and making Araav stagger. She dispelled one of her spellshields, and conjured a sword in less than a second. While he was still stunned, she slashed at him, hitting her mark on his shoulder.

Araav yelled and reached forward and June slashed down again, and grabbed June’s arm. She froze with fear as Araav brought his other hand to her arm in the blink of an eye, and snapped the bone with little effort.

June screamed at the top of her lungs and staggered backwards, dropping onto her knees and cradling her broken, limp arm.

“June!” Stephen called, stepping forward, but finding himself blocked by master Harmir resting his good hand on Stephen’s chest.

“Don’t.” He whispered, leaving Stephen frozen with fear. He couldn’t intervene, there would be dire consequences. But each time June got hurt, he felt it as if he was getting attacked. His heart hurt for her, and hearing her scream like that had made him nauseous from stress.

Araav stepped forward like a predator, even though he was still bleeding profusely from the chest and shoulder, and formed a magical whip in his hands. He slashed down with the magical energy, cutting June across the face. She screamed again, and in response, Araav whipped her again, this time across her folded arms.

 _Book, please! Help me,_ June mentally begged. But the book did nothing. It didn’t even stir at her presence like it normally did. _Book!_ She mentally screamed at it, still garnering no response. Blood was dripping down her face and getting into her eyes, making it impossible to see.

Another powerful blow came from Araav as he stepped forward and kicked June’s crumpled form, sending her backwards onto the stone. The screams of the crowd had reached a fever pitch, they were hungry for blood. June was panting, and tears streamed down her face as she desperately tried to wipe the blood from her eyes with her good hand.

            Araav used his whip again, slashing her across the side. There was a gross crunching sound as several of her ribs broke under the attack, the noise making Stephen sick to his stomach. Stephen was sweating, his hands clenched into painful fists. His eyes were wide and his breathing hard, and he couldn’t bare to tear his eyes away from June. _No, no, no…_ he mentally chanted.

            The whip came down again, and June screamed once more. Araav raised it one more time, preparing for the final blow. He brought it down with terrifying speed, but it didn’t connect with June.

            Instead, a spellshield had covered her form. Stephen panted as he held out his hands, using all of his strength to protect June.

            Arrav turned his head towards Stephen, and a look of sheer rage came across his face. Stephen had never seen Araav be mad before, and the sight terrified him.

            “Master Strange!” Araav yelled, his voice echoing across the courtyard. The crowd was silenced. The council member dispelled his whip, and Stephen did the same with the shield, which vanished around June in a plume of orange sparks. She was left shivering and bleeding, with the occasional sniffle from her crying.

            “How _dare_ you intervene in the sacred battle of Jadu Nirnaya?” Araav yelled once more, his voice filling the air. It boomed and echoed with enough might to make stone crack under its authority and weight.

            Stephen opened his mouth to speak, but couldn’t form words. “I-I…” He breathed.

            “You know the laws, Strange!” Araav yelled. The other council members stepped forward, each one of them looking either infuriated or, in Haukea’s case, disappointed. Araav stepped forward to Stephen, stopping a few inches from his form. “You know not which you have done. Now you must suffer the consequences.” He spoke softly, his voice still angry.

            “I don’t care!” Stephen hissed at Araav. “Do whatever you want, none of it matters.” Protecting June was worth everything – his magic, his title, his life. None of it mattered in a world without her. He had to protect her, he had no regrets.

            “You…” Araav started. “… are hereby banned from using the Eye of Agamotto.” He turned to face June, then looked back at Stephen with his arms crossed, uncaring of the blood on his chest. “And you will no longer be allowed to train Ms. Jones.” Arrav stepped back towards the council members, joining their ranks. “She will be inducted in classes here at Kamar-Taj.”

            “No.” Stephen breathed. His heart was breaking – June was getting torn away from him? _Not an option,_ he mentally vowed. “Juniper has displayed skill on the level of an advanced student, meaning that she doesn’t have to stay at Kamar-Taj with the beginners.” He explained. Silence filled the air for a moment.

            “He’s right.” Haukea spoke up. “She held her own against you for a while, and just look at you, Araav.” She motioned to Araav’s large cuts. “She stood her ground and displayed mastery of combat magic. She can be left to her own devices. She’s ready.”

            The other council members looked to each other, and Deyman shook his head.

            “Absolutely not. She needs to stay here.” He said curtly. Deep down, he agreed with Haukea, but the chance to spite Strange was too good to pass up.

            “Don’t listen to Deyman.” Bao spoke up next. “Let her stay in New York. The Sanctum needs two sorcerers to guard it – let that be her punishment. Have her be assigned there formally, and kept away from Kamar-Taj for a while.” He said as he adjusted the position of his wheel chair.

            “Bao’s right. Juniper is more than capable.” Master Shane added in. “That makes the vote 3-2 for Juniper staying in New York.”

            Araav nodded. “Very well.” He faced Strange, his face resuming its standard calmness and strength. “Take her and go.” He said to Stephen, motioning his head to Juniper. The crowd that had gathered for the fight had begun to dissipate, everyone’s thirst for blood and desire for drama quenched.

            Stephen let out an internal sigh of relief, and nodded at Araav. He gave a quick bow to the council, and walked over to the still crumpled-up June. He bent down next to her, and brushed some hair out of her face.

            “Hey.” He whispered to her.

            “Hey.” She croaked back. “Can we… go home?” Her voice was weak, and it broke Stephen’s heart.

            “Yeah.” He replied, bending forward and snaking his arms under her. He hefted her up with a grunt. “Let’s go home.”

            <…>

            “Stephen, I’m…. I’m so sorry…” June whispered between labored breaths. Stephen ran his hands over June’s arm, healing the break in the bone, causing her to hiss in pain and squirm under his touch.

            “Don’t worry about it.” He said, focusing his attention on her arm. “I’m sorry that I got our gig ruined.”

            “You didn’t ruin anything.” She said. “Just don’t get yourself in trouble on my account, okay?” She felt terrible that Stephen had his rights to the Eye revoked, simply because of her inability to defend herself. Part of her was glad he did it, though, because that shield saved her ass, and because the notion of him saving her was romantic. She looked away from him and gritted her teeth in pain, the bone had snapped back into place and was merging back into itself, healing the break.

            “Alright, all finished with this part.” Stephen said as he released her arm after a few more moments of healing. June rolled her wrist around and tested out her arm, grabbing it with her free hand and rubbing where the break was.

            “Like new.” She said with a soft smile. Stephen nodded and smiled back at her. “Thanks, Stephen.” She whispered.

            “No problem. Don’t mention it.” He said as she hopped down from his desk and rubbed her newly-healed ribs.

            “This magic stuff… is there anything it can’t do?” June asked. “Heal bones, bring back the dead… is there anything it can’t do?” She asked.

            “Well, it can’t make people feel genuine emotions that they don’t feel for real. Like, for example, you can’t make somebody fall in love with someone else.” Stephen explained. “Unless they were already in love with that person.”

            “You sound like you’ve tried.” June said with a chuckle. Stephen rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

            “You know me so well.” He replied sarcastically. “God, you make me sound like a creep.”

            “Hey, you’re not a creep. Just a weirdo.” June replied. Stephen chuckled.

            “Maybe so.” He paused for a moment, glancing at the clock in the room. “So, what… do you want to do today? I’m not your master anymore, so I can’t tell you what to do.”

            “Freedom, at long last.” June said with a grin. “I was thinking of maybe robbing a bank, or taking over Mars. What do you think?”

            “Mars, for sure.” He replied with a laugh. “Think of all that power.”

            “Mars it is.” June said. She rolled her shoulder, still feeling a bit of muscle pain from where she had been healed. It would dissipate over the course of about an hour, and then she’d feel like new.

            _I’m not her master anymore…_ The thought made Stephen freeze. Their dynamic had shifted entirely in a matter of minutes. June was now a full sorcerer, ready to roam the world as she pleased. She wasn’t bound by his rules anymore, and he wasn’t bound by a certain rule of the council anymore… _I have to tell her,_ he decided. _After almost losing her today, I have to tell her._

            “June.” Stephen started. “Can we talk?” He asked, feeling more than nervous. He vowed that he’d tell her how he felt back when he was in the hospital, and now was a good of a time as ever to come clean and confess.

            “Sure. What about?” She asked, her eyes and voice bright as ever.

            “…Us.” Stephen managed to choke out. His face was already turning a bit red, and he turned away from her in hopes to hide it.

            “Us?” June asked. Her heart jumped in her chest. _He couldn’t mean… romantically, could he…?_

            “June, I…” He tried to speak, but he couldn’t find the words. “I…” He breathed out again. _Just say it, you coward! I! Love! You!_ The chant in his head did nothing to help the words come out of his mouth. Without thinking he turned back to face June and quickly kissed her.

            It only lasted for a second, but it felt like forever. June’s lips were soft and conformed to his. They were sweet and warm, and Stephen felt light-headed and breathless from the contact. June felt fire crawl up her spine as they kissed, the magic from their astral form brushing against each other and creating a truly wonderous experience. She closed her eyes and leaned into the kiss, deepening it for a second before pulling away.

            Stephen stared down at her, breathing heavily, his face as red as a beet.

            “Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” He yelled before turning around and burying his face in his hands. “I can’t believe…. I’m so, so sorry!” He yelled into his hands. June was similarly red and breathless. She reached out to him and pulled him around back to her. He lifted his hands out of his face to look at her, and when he did, June leaned up and kissed him back.

            The second kiss was just as good, if not better than the first one. They both closed their eyes and lost themselves momentarily in the sensation. June pulled away and looked up at him, her violet eyes bright.

            “Don’t worry about it.” She said with a sly smile on her lips. “I feel the same way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *throws confetti*


	16. Fantasy

November 17th, 2019

 

            “So, you finally kissed?” Asked May, her eyes wide. June nodded and grinned at her mother.

            “You better believe it. He’s a really good kisser, too. Great set of lips on that one.” June chuckled at her own words, finding her face a bit flushed as she recalled the several kisses that her and Stephen shared earlier that day. They shared their first set of kisses this morning, and they had split ways after finding themselves embarrassed and anxious about the situation. They also had individual work to do now, seeing as how Stephen was forbidden from teaching June, meaning that most of her days were now going to be spent self-teaching herself magic from the thousands of books in the Sanctum.

            Day had become afternoon, and June decided it was better to head home for the evening in order to work on her meditation and astral projection in a comfortable and familiar place. She ended up getting too caught up with telling her mother about the kiss to do any actual sorcery work, however. They were both sitting on May’s bed, where she was reading before June interrupted her with the good news.

            “Well, I’m so happy for you honey!” May exclaimed as she gently squeezed her daughter in a hug. “Stephen seems like such a nice man. And he’s quite the handsome devil, if I say so myself. Good choice.” She passed her daughter a wink, and they both laughed.

            “Thanks, Mom. I’m just… nervous about what to do next.” June explained. “Like, where do we go from here? I really don’t want to mess this up. What kind of date should we go on?”

            “I can’t tell you that. Go ask him yourself. Shoot him a text and see what he wants to do.” May said. June nodded and rested he hands on her knees.

            “Fair enough. Thanks for the advice.” June said.

            May picked up her book and began to read again, having where she left off marked with a bookmark. “It’s what I’m here for, sweetie.” She said, her voice a bit distracted as she began to read about a handsome pirate captain and his beautiful prisoner. June rolled her eyes at her mother’s book habit, and got off of the bed, leaving the room to head to hers, which was just down the hall, next to April’s room.

            The sister in question was out spending the night at a friend’s house, and June was grateful for it. April would have taken the opportunity to tease June about being a “slut,” in April’s own words, and June really didn’t want to deal with that tonight.

            She entered her messy room, grateful to be in the familiar surroundings once more. The room was messy, with band and movie posters adorning almost every inch of wall space. The carpet was the same off-brand brown that the rest of the house had, with the occasional stain from where June had dropped nail polish or spilt cream soda on the floor. Her guitar sat in the corner of the room, and the sight of it brought up several memories of playing it, all of which were good times. June smiled and flopped onto her bed.

            She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. With a few taps of the screen, she was looking at her and Stephen’s last text conversation with each other. It took place earlier in November, right after the council found out about June’s position as Stephen’s apprentice. That seemed like ages ago, even if it was earlier this month.

            _Everything’s happened so fast…_ June mentally commented as she began to type a new message. _Hey,_ she started. _What’s good?_ She hit the send button and rolled onto her belly, hugging her pillow as she stared at the screen. _Please reply soon…_ she thought as she began to wait. Three bubbles appeared on the screen, indicating that Stephen was typing. She let out a sigh as his message popped up on her screen.

            _Hey there. Just hanging out at my place. Thinking about you. What’s up?_ June blushed at the words – they were a bit forward, but she liked that. Stephen wouldn’t be pulling any punches with her, and the fact that he was thinking about her filled her with a warm sensation. A grin crept onto her face as she began to type back.

            _Oh, you know. Just chillin’. Was wondering if you maybe wanted to do something tomorrow night?_

_Sounds great._ The reply came after a minute. _Are you thinking something like dinner, or are we going to run under the moonlight while we do witches’ rituals?_ June was grateful he took out the “naked” part that usually went along with the legend of witches under moonlight.

_Well, is it really a date if we don’t turn someone into a frog? But I was more thinking along the lines of dinner. You know me, always down for a meal._

_Dinner it is. Our first date, then? How does Quesero sound? At 7?_ The Mexican restaurant was more on the casual end, for sure, but damn if it didn’t have the best guacamole on the lower east side.

            _Sounds great. Love me some tacos,_ June replied. _Can’t wait to see you again._

_Same here. Can’t wait to kiss that sweet little mouth of yours again._ June shivered and buried her face in her pillow and let out a small scream, flailing her feet against the bed. She was blushing wildly, her face red as a tomato. It took her a minute to regain her composure and return to her phone.

            _Aren’t we a smoothie? Can’t wait either. Expect tongue._ She texted him back quickly, eager to continue the flirting.

<…>

            _Aren’t we a smoothie? Can’t wait either. Expect tongue._ Stephen’s eyes grew wide at the message, and he couldn’t contain his grin. His cheeks were red, and he leaned his head back against his couch. The low hum of the TV was all but forgotten as Stephen absorbed himself into texting his new romantic partner.

            _Romantic partner…_ He internally scoffed at the phrase. He wanted to say “girlfriend,” but he wasn’t sure June was ready for exclusivity quite yet. He regretted not talking about their relationship in detail while they were together, but every time he wanted to talk to her, it just turned into more fervent kisses. _Guess we can talk about that on our date tomorrow._ He paused at the word “date,” and it echoed through her mind. _Date. Like a real date._ Stephen could have jumped over the moon. The thought of a real date with June made him wild and excited, and he desperately wished it was tomorrow already.

            _Oh, hot. Hope you’re ready for the best kissing of your life._ Stephen wasn’t one to boast – oh, who was he kidding, he _loved_ to brag about his skills. Kissing wasn’t just an action, it was an art form. One that he had mastered over the course of many hours with many women. He was proud of his talent, and when it came to women, kissing wasn’t his only talent to brag about.

            But behind all his bravado, there was an amount of fear within him. _What if I mess this up?_ His demons plagued him at every turn, whispering dreadful nothings into his ear: _you’re just using her, she just wants you for your body, you’ll mess this up and be alone forever, you’ll ruin this like how you did with Christine._ Stephen did his best to tone them out, but their voices were loud and overpowering. He struggled to hold on to hope that he was doing _something_ right – _why else would June feel the same way, if I was messing this up already?_

            His phone vibrated in his hand, grabbing his attention. _You’re an animal. I love it._ Stephen grinned at her cheekiness. He looked up, out of his living room window, and noticed that the sun had completely vanished, leaving the dark of night in its place, even though it was only about 6:30 in the evening. He loved winter, and all it represented, but he hated that it became dark so early.

            His stomach growled, pulling him out of his thoughts. _Time to make dinner, I guess._ He looked down at his phone and remembered that he still needed to text June back. Cooking and texting was not a good combination, however, so their conversation was going to have to be shelved for another time.

            _Hey, got to make me some dinner. Mind if I text you later?_ His fingers ached – he had been texting for far too long. The cold weather also wasn’t helping with his arthritis. _Maybe I should go grab my gloves,_ he thought.

            _That’s cool. I’ve got to hop off and get a shower anyway. Talk to you later!_ Stephen blinked at the message and smiled. _June in the shower…. Now_ there’s _a thought._ He let his dark mind run rampant for a second before shaking his head. _Don’t get all worked up. Still have to ear first._ Standing up, he stretched his back with a groan, eliciting a pop from the stiff bone. He idly scratched at his hip as he made his way into the small kitchen, contemplating what meal he should start working on.

<…>

            The hot water of the shower poured over June’s head, making her internally sigh. It was wonderful, soothing, and relaxing. The heat against her skin made her feel at ease, and made her feel warm emotionally as well as physically. She liked the water at a temperature that most people would label as “the fires of hell,” but June didn’t mind. The way she saw it, the hotter, the better.

            She hoped that a shower would give her enough time and space to calm her mind. Today’s event had left it buzzing, and left her excited but also unsettled. Her heart still felt like it was racing, and she couldn’t quiet figure out if today had been a dream or not.

            _We finally kissed._ It felt unreal to her. It was something she had wanted since she first started to get to know Stephen – he was handsome, funny, smart, heroic… who wouldn’t fall for a man like him? But a question arose: _What does he see in me?_

June only saw flaws when she looked at herself in the mirror. She saw her thin lips, her strong chin, her defined brow. _But Stephen somehow… sees past all that._ The thought made her feel simultaneously wonderful and a little confused. _What did I do to deserve him?_

Stephen was completely out of her league, he was a hero. He had literally saved the world from destruction via becoming one with the dark dimension. She owed him her life, a few times over. _Well, this is the least I can do to repay his heroics…_ At the thought of Stephen’s heroics, a thought ran through her head: Stephen swopping down to save her, and as he flew away with her in his arms, they kissed passionately. _Just like out of a romantic comic book,_ June thought.

            There really was something romantic about the concept of Stephen being a hero. Maybe it was because of how selfless he was? Maybe it was the fit body and the superpowers? At that thought, June paused as the image of Stephen shirtless ran through her head. She grinned and let the thought go where it desired. Stephen walked towards her, wrapped his powerful arms around her, and then leaned in and kissed her ferociously, his tongue dancing with hers…

            She closed her eyes and lost herself in the fantasy for a moment. The muscles in his arm and chest as he held her close, his scent and taste – she could envision it all perfectly in her mind. Her breathing shifted and leaned back against the wall of the shower, letting the hot water run down her body.

            She paused for a moment. _Am I doing this?_ Her internal deliberation lasted only a moment, but she quickly decided. _Absolutely._ She gently dipped her hand between her legs, intent on giving herself a wonderful night.

           


	17. Can't Hide Love

November 18th, 2019

            Early night had fallen over New York City. There were no stars overhead, merely the overpowering glow of the city lights. The Sanctum was well lit, the lights warm and comforting. Juniper made her way into the Sanctum, closing her sling portal behind her. It hissed and cracked as it dissipated, its orange glow fading quickly.

            “Stephen?” June called as she looked around the foyer. The noise of movement caught her attention, and she looked up at the top of the stairs as Stephen appeared.

            “Hey there.” He said with a smile. He was in casual clothes, a band shirt and a nice leather jacket, with Cloak sitting on his shoulders. To see Cloak without having Stephen be in his sorcerer robes was almost unsettling. June had never seen it rest on Stephen’s shoulders while he was in street clothes.

            “Hey guys!” June said with a wave. Stephen descended the stairs, running a hand through his hair as he did so.

            “So, are you ready for tonight?” Stephen asked as he approached her. She nodded and motioned towards the Cloak of Levitation.

            “Is Cloak coming too?” June asked. Stephen shook his head.

            “Afraid not. Cloak’s just been clingy lately, ever since the incident with the Roj-Mal.” He explained. It made sense – Stephen died that day, Cloak almost lost him forever. Of course, the relic would want to keep a close eye on its master after an incident like that.

            June reached out gently, and stroked the popped collar of the Cloak. Normally, it would have shied away from her touch. June blinked, and smiled.

            “Finally willing to be my friend, huh?” She asked. The Cloak’s collar moved a bit, simulating a nod, making June smile and pet it some more. “Awesome.” She breathed.

            “Glad to see that you two are finally getting along.” Stephen said, He reached up and pet the other side of Cloak’s collar for a second, before the Cloak floated up off his shoulders. It hovered off to the side, watching both Stephen and June inquisitively.

            Stephen looked at Cloak for a second, a reassuring smile on his lips, before returning his attention to June. “Shall we, then?” He asked, lifting his sling ring. June nodded.

            “Sure.” She turned to Cloak. “Care to watch the place while we’re gone?” She asked it. Cloak nodded before floating off, heading back upstairs. June looked back at Stephen and smiled softly. “Glad to see you again.” She said.

            Stephen smiled at her. “Likewise.” He bent down and gently gave her cheek a quick kiss, making her blush and grin.

            “You never did tell me you were such a sweetheart, you know that?” June playfully teased him. Stephen chuckled.

            “I do my best.” He replied as he slid his sling ring onto his finger and lifted up his hand to create the portal. He made the traditional circular motions with his ringless hand, and a portal of orange sparks hissed and sizzled to life. On the other side of it rested Quesero, a Mexican restaurant. “After you.” Stephen said as he motioned to the portal. June stepped through without a word, and he followed right behind her.

<…>

            “This is great, I haven’t been here in ages.” June said before taking another bite of chips and guacamole. The sauce was what Quesero was famous for, people from all over town would come here just to get a taste of the legendary guacamole.

            “Same here. Have you had the chicken fajitas here? They’re to die for.” Stephen said before popping a chip into his mouth.

            “They bring it out to you on the skillet, right? I always thought that was neat.” June said, resting her elbows on the table. “I’m down to share some fajitas if you are.”

            “Maybe. I’ve been thinking about mixing it up and getting one of those steak quesadillas. Those look phenomenal too.” Stephen said as paged through the menu. He sat it down after a second and looked at June. “So, what have you been up too, now that you have to teach yourself?” He asked before taking off his leather jacket and sitting it in the seat beside him. _It’s all fun and games until you get some food on your nice leather,_ he thought. 

            “Honestly? Nothing.” She admitted with a laugh. A strand of hair fell into her face, and she moved it before speaking again. “I’m not disciplined enough for this shit.” She explained. “I just keep practicing what I already know, instead of teaching myself new things.”

            “Well, I mean, you’re not required to teach yourself, if you don’t want to.” Stephen said. “But it would be a damn shame to see your talents, and the Book’s powers, to go to waste.” He took a quick sip of his drink after speaking.

            June nodded. “You have a point. I’ve been thinking of reading about advanced combat tactics, but it’s hard when you don’t have someone to spar with.”

            Stephen smiled. “Well, just because I can’t teach you, doesn’t mean I can’t spar with you.” He said. “Besides, if I lose my sparring partner, I’ll get flabby.” He joked.

            “Can’t have that, can we?” June chuckled. “Would you really be a superhero without those biceps?”

            “Not at all.” Stephen said with a grin. “I’m pretty sure it’s a law that all superheroes have to have great arms.”

            “Well, then you certainly fit the bill.” June said with a wink. Stephen grinned at her and winked back, making June blush a bit. His grin turned into a smile at the sight, he loved how easy it was to make her blush. June looked down at her menu to hide her red face, and Stephen did the same. Silence floated between them for a moment as they contemplated what they should order.

            “So, let’s cut to the chase.” June said after a minute or two.

            “What do you mean?” Stephen asked, setting down his menu. June did the same.

            “What are you in this for?” June asked. “Like, if we’re going to make this a thing, I’d like to know what you’re looking to get out of it.” She explained.

            Stephen nodded. “That’s fair.” He paused for a moment. “At the risk of sounding like a creep, I’ll be honest with you-“

            “Oh god, it’s just for the sex, isn’t it?” June interrupted, her face showing a bit of disappointment. Stephen raised his hands out and shook his head quickly.

            “No, the opposite of that!” He exclaimed. “I… I want to be in this for the long haul, Juniper. I want this to be serious. Like, I know that’s probably really forward and maybe a little too much, too fast, but I also want to make my intentions clear with you.”

            June nodded slowly, her bangs bouncing with the movement. “I… feel the same way, honestly.” She said with a smile. “I don’t like wasting my time, and I don’t like fooling around. I’m glad we’re on the same page about it.”

            Stephen let out a mental sigh of relief. _Good,_ he thought. _She’s not going to waste my time either._ He ran a quick hand through his hair before speaking again. “But there is something I need to tell you. It’s about Kamar-Taj.” He paused, and June looked at him, patiently waiting for him to finish. “Now that I’m without a formal apprentice, they’re… expecting me to do more around there. Like, teaching wise.” He explained. “Like, I was there earlier today, and Bao told me that he’s going to need me 5 times a week now.”

            “Wow, 5 times? Aren’t they getting greedy? You have a Sanctum to run.” June said, and Stephen nodded.

            “Yeah, it’s not like I have a whole city to keep safe from magical threats or anything. They think that, now because I have you, I can devote less of my time to New York. I guess they expect you to pick up the slack.”

            “Well, I’ll do my best, I suppose.” June said, resting her chin in her hand. “But that’s still bullshit.”

            “That’s not even the worst part.” Stephen said, leaning inwards. “They want me to, on top of everything else, take another apprentice. One at Kamar-Taj.”

            June’s eyes went wide. “No.” She drew out of the word in shock. “They can’t be serious. Another apprentice? On top of everything else? They’re insane.”

            “That’s what I said! But Bao insists.” Stephen rested his elbows on the table. “It’s this woman named Susan, and she’s struggling really hard with the basics. He thinks that we’d be a good match, because I struggled back in the day.”

            _A woman?_ A hot coal settled in June’s belly. _Another woman taking up all of his time…_ She felt angry, jealous, and disgusted with herself. _Stephen should be able to take on a new apprentice, if he wants, but… what would that mean for us?_ June didn’t reply, she just furrowed her brow a bit in thought.

            “Yeah, I assumed you’d dislike that thought.” Stephen said, leaning back into his seat. June lifted her head up.

            “What? I mean, I don’t dislike it, I just…”

            “Oh, cut the shit. You don’t want me spending all of my time with another lady.” He grinned – he had her made. June wasn’t exactly the best at hiding her emotions, and Stephen got a sick kick from outing her. It was good for their communication, thought, because June could never be dishonest with him about how she felt.

            “Maybe so.” June said, crinkling her nose. “I’m also just worried about what that would mean for us. I know how much of your time I took up, and coupled with the increased demands of the council, I just wonder… how much time will you have for _this?_ ” June motioned between the two of them.

            “Well, don’t.” He said. “I’m not taking on an apprentice. At least, not until I can prove to you that you’re my number one priority, always.” June blushed at his words. “Here, let me prove it to you. Come to my place tonight, after we’re done here.”

            June raised her brow. “For…?”

            “Not _that_ , I can assure you. At least, not yet. Let’s take our time.” Stephen said, adjusting the collar of his shirt a bit as he blushed at the implication. “I just… want to spend some time with you. Maybe curl up with you on the couch and share some more kisses. Somebody mentioned tongue, yesterday, and it’d be rude to go back on her word…” Stephen teased her with a sly grin.

            June chuckled and blushed a bit. “Fine, I’ll go. But I expect the, oh, how did you describe it….? The ‘best kissing of my life,’ I think is what you said.” She smiled at him cheekily. Stephen laughed.

            “I’ll keep up my end of the bargain.” He said as he reached out and gently took June’s hand. “I just want to show you a good time.” June nodded with a smile, and her blush got a little deeper.

            “Alrighty then. I can’t wait.” She said. “But for now, there’s just one question…” Stephen raised his brow before she finished speaking. “Fajitas or tacos? I can’t decide.” June said with a laugh.

<…>

            The air at Stephen’s apartment was cool and familiar. June stood in his living room as he closed the portal behind them. The furniture was the same monochromatic color scheme that it was the last time June had been there, although it had been slightly rearranged.

            “Alright, so what did you have in mind?” June asked as Stephen approached her. He rested his trembling hands on her hips and kissed her gently, making June blush once more. June kissed him back, loving the taste of his lips.

            “I was hoping to maybe dance with you.” Stephen admitted, his face only a few inches from hers. June blinked.

            “Dance? Stephen, I don’t… dance.” She admitted, looking down and stepping back from him.

            Stephen scoffed. “You sing, but you don’t dance?” He asked as he made his way towards his record player. It was resting on a small bookshelf that held various vinyl records, and he bent down and began to sift though them. “Aha.” He said as he pulled out a record, one with a red and yellow cover.

            “Why is that hard to believe?” June asked, crossing her arms.

            “Because, you clearly have a sense of rhythm.” He said as he stood back up and pulled the record out of its sleeve. “It should come easy to you.” He explained as he set the record on the player, and moved the needle over to it.

            “Just because I have a sense of rhythm doesn’t mean I’m coordinated enough to pull off fancy footwork.” June replied, shifting her weight onto one hip. Stephen chuckled as he walked back over to her.

            “Here, let me teach you.” He said as he took her hands. June blushed, but didn’t fight him as he guided one of her hands to his shoulder, and held the other firm gently. His free hand rested on her hip. “We’ll start off simple, just sway to the beat.” He chuckled and gave her quick kiss as music began to fill the air.

            _Can’t Hide Love. Earth, Wind, and Fire. 1976._ Stephen couldn’t help but place the tune. June looked nervous as he began to gently sway, but she followed suit, matching his simple steps.

            “See, look? It’s not that hard.” Stephen purred and he gave her another quick kiss. June’s face was red, but she couldn’t keep the smile from her lips as they gently swayed.

            “Fair enough.” June chuckled. She leaned forward and rested her head on his chest, making Stephen blush a bit in response. He smiled sweetly as the two began to dance the night away in each other’s arms.


	18. Don't Stop Me Now

November 17th, 2019

 

            The council had been called into session. After the events of the Jadu Nirnaya, a question had been on the minds of every councilmember: is Stephen really the One? Deyman was the first to call the meeting, followed by Shane and Bao agreeing to it. This made the majority come together for a meeting, formally pulling the whole council together.

            “Araav, you still can’t be serious about this. Look at him! He’s not the one.” Deyman started. Araav was not happy about this, he knew that all of his decisions involving Stephen would now be called into question.

            “To be fair, it doesn’t seem like the Vishanti are looking out for him.” Shane said. “The man did die again, somehow. The Vishanti wouldn’t let their chosen one die, would they?”

            “But they didn’t let him die, June revived him using the power from the book of the Vishanti. That’s pretty much the Vishanti directly reviving Strange.” Haukea spoke up in Stephen’s defense.

            “That was Juniper’s action, not the Vishanti’s.” Bao said. “We can’t say that was divine intervention.”

            “Your only evidence for Strange not being the One is because he died?” Araav asked, a brow raised. “You’re standing on a pillar of salt, my friends.”

            “Well, there’s also the fact that we just have no confirmation that he _is_ the One at all!” Shane cut in, resting his hands on the table. “You picked him solely on a feeling and the fact that he defeated Dormammu – which, don’t get me wrong, is quite the feat, but that alone doesn’t make him the One.”

            Araav pursed his lips and looked down.

            “Shane has a point. I think we need to keep looking for other candidates.” Bao said, adjusting his wheelchair to get a better view of Araav. “I’m not saying we should rule out Strange, not by any means, but I don’t think we should full-on say that he’s the One right now.”

            “Especially not after his act of defiance against you during the Jadu Nirnaya.” Deyman spoke again, his voice rigid and deep. He crossed his thick arms. “I’m impressed that you actually managed to punish him this time, though. Normally you’d let him get away with murder.”

            Haukea raised a brow. “Deyman, you can’t fool us. You just want those backsliding privileges to yourself.”

            “Are you calling me a backslider?” Deyman asked, resting a fist on the table. “You know that there’s nothing farther than the truth.”

            “Focus.” Araav’s voice cut between the two. “It appears I’ve been outvoted again. The vote is 3-2 in favor of doubting Stephen’s position as the one, meaning that we need to start looking for other candidates. Is this agreeable?” He asked. Everyone at the table nodded, with mutterings of  “yes,” and “yeah.”

<…>

November 27th, 2019

            “Come on, you can do better than that!” Stephen called as he pulled his spellshield close to his chest. He was sparring with Juniper in the ever-warm courtyard of the Sanctum, which was protected from the outside weather and climate controlled via magic. Stephen was shirtless, in an attempt to throw Juniper off guard and distract her.

            “You’re right -- how’s this?!” June called out as she brought her sword down against his shield in a fluff of slashing marks, each stroke having more power than the last. She was dressed for exercise, wearing a sports bra and a pair of exercise pants. Her exposed midriff was distracting Stephen much more than he’d like to admit.

            June’s attack made Stephen stagger back a bit, and June used the opportunity to tackle him to the ground with a war cry. He let out a gasp as his back collided with the ground, knocking some of the wind out of him. June straddled him, and grinned down at him triumphantly.

            “Does this count as a knock-out?” She asked cheekily. Stephen let out a slightly strained chuckle as June’s weight rested on his hips.

            “Consider me defeated.” He breathed as his hand crawled up June’s smooth thigh and settled on her rear. She smirked down at him and bent forward, planting a soft kiss on his thin lips. Stephen closed his eyes and leaned up into the kiss, gently squeezing her ass as he did. When the kiss broke, he let out a groan. “Alright, time for a break.” He said with a small smirk.

            “With me, or do you need to cool down?” June asked playfully.

            “I really need to cool down, unless you want these sweatpants to leave nothing to the imagination.” He admitted with a slight blush and a sheepish look. June chuckled.

            “It’s up to you, handsome.” She purred as she got up off of him. She stood up with a groan, and Stephen followed suit. They looked at each other for a moment, and exchanged soft smiles.

            For a moment, June was caught up in how Stephen looked. The sunlight was caught in his hair, turning it a shade of deep brown as it reacted to the golden light. The white steaks on his sideburns seemed to glow with an almost alien intensity to them in the light – she couldn’t help but wonder if the white tips of her hair did the same thing. His devilishly handsome face casted long shadows over his prominent nose and sharp cheekbones, and his blue eyes seemed to stare right through June’s very being. She blushed and looked away, inciting a chuckle from Stephen.

            “I love it when you do that.” He said, a smirk on his lips.

            “Do what?” June asked, crossing her arms.

            “Look at me like it’s the first time again.” He began to approach her, his walk confident. “I remember that day, you know. When we first met.”

            “Oh?” June asked, a brow raised. “Tell me about it.” She was eager to gain Stephen’s perspective on the day that changed her life forever.

            “I remember, even if you were panicked, how beautiful you were.” He stepped even closer, and rested his hands on her hips. “I remember how bright those purple eyes were, and how you looked at me. It was like I was the most handsome man you’d ever laid eyes on.”

            “You were, and still are.” June said with a smile before leaning in and kissing Stephen tenderly, letting her warm lips conform to his. They both closed their eyes and let the kiss last for a few moments, letting one another enjoy the sensation. When the kiss finally broke, Stephen chuckled.

            “So much for calming down.” He said.

            “Hey, I’ll throw down any time, stud.” June replied. “No need to calm down here.” Stephen let out a hearty laugh.

            “As tempting as the offer is, I think a workplace fuck would be a little inappropriate. Besides, last time I checked, I was still winning. I intend to kick your ass for another ten rounds.” He grinned deviously, and June rolled her eyes, resting a hand on her hip.

            “Whatever, honey. Last time I checked, I think we were tied. Meaning that I’m going to start winning the second you let your guard down.” June passed him a sultry smirk and a wink. “And it’s certainly not hard to distract you.”

            Stephen blushed and passed her a glare. “That’s unfair, and you know it.” He said, trying to hold back a grin.

            June opened her mouth to speak, but the second she did, her arm was yanked on so hard it felt like it was going to be ripped out of its socket. She let out a scream as she was dragged a few feet to the left, and she gripped her shoulder with a hiss.

            “Are you alright?!” Stephen asked, hurrying over to her.

            “God damn, what was that?” June snarled as she looked down at her arm, and noticed that the book of the Vishanti was flapping around, as if being pulled by some unknown force. It tugged hard again, sending June tumbling to the ground with a cry.

            “June!” Stephen called as he bent down and helped her up quickly. She let out a groan.

            “What is going on with the Book?” She asked between clenched teeth as the Book tugged on her arm once more, albeit lightly this time. It was pulling against the beads that connected it to her wrist, as if trying to escape her. “What the hell?” She asked as she watched it.

            “What the hell, indeed…” Stephen said as he reached out towards the Book. He moved his fingers in a specific pattern, and the book was encased by a sphere of orange magic. “Here, this should stop it from ripping your arm off.”

            “Thanks.” June said as she rubbed her shoulder again. It stung and burned on the inside, she’d have to put it on ice when she got the chance.

            Stephen motioned towards the Sanctum. “I think we should head inside, so I can get a better look at the Book and see what’s going on here.” He said as he watched the Book struggled against its new confines. June nodded, and they both headed inside the Sanctum.

<…>

            “Alright, one last test.” Stephen said as he examined the book in his hands once more with a critical eye. They were in his study, with June sitting on Stephen’s desk, as per usual, and Stephen handling the Book with extreme care.

            He’d been examining the Book with magic to hopefully figure out why it suddenly wanted to run away, but he wasn’t coming up with any answers. A divination spell didn’t reveal anything, and a curse-breaker spell had no effect on the Book – but on the bright side, that meant that Book wasn’t cursed. Stephen was left to physically examine the book as he thought of what to do next.

            “Well, maybe a spirit-projection spell will let us know if the Book is haunted…” He said as he closely inspected the book for the hundredth time. June merely nodded at his words, still nursing her shoulder.

            “Yeah, alright. Maybe that’s it.” She said. Stephen turned the Book over once, and then again. The glowing green runes on it pulsed with energy, and whenever Stephen focused on the Book mentally, the runes burned brighter.

            _Odd…_ he thought as he swiped his thumb over the rune on the small leather book, the same design that served as the symbol for the New York Sanctum and adorned the Eye of Agamotto. He felt as if something was pulling him towards the Book, something within the Book was calling to him… He closed his eyes and focused, thinking about what to do next, when he heard it.

            _Open it. Claim your destiny._

            The voice made his eyes shoot open, and he looked at June, clearly startled.

            “What?” She asked him.

            “Did you say something?” He asked, a bit panicked.

            “No, why?” June replied, raising a brow.

            “I… heard a voice. It told me to open the Book.” Stephen’s brows furrowed, and he turned his attention to the small clasp that held the Book shut. The Book of the Vishanti had never been opened, ever. Why was something telling him to do the impossible?

            “Do it.” June said with a nod. “Maybe it’s…. trying to tell us something.” Stephen passed a quick look up at June, before putting his shaking fingers on the clasp of the Book. The leather was warm, hot even, and it seemed to pulse with a life of its own.

            “Are you sure about this?” He asked.

            “I am, yeah.” She replied.

            “Be ready for anything.” He said as he looked back down at the Book. “I don’t know what’s going to happen if I open this…” June responded by clenching her other fist, making it spark with magic.

            “Let’s do this.” She said confidently. Stephen wish that he had her sheer audacity – she wasn’t even worried about what the consequences of opening the Book might entail. But the rewards outweighed the risks – who knew what could be inside the Book? The path to ultimate power? The secrets of the universe? If the Book was telling Stephen to open it, then it must have decided that it was time for humanity to behold whatever secrets it held.

            “Here goes nothing…” He said before holding his breath in anticipation. Juniper did the same.

            Stephen’s finger was still on the clasp on the Book. He hooked the tender digit underneath it, and pulled upward. With a click, the clasp came undone, and the book of the Vishanti opened.


	19. Under Pressure

November 27, 2019

 

“This…. Shouldn’t be possible.” Stephen breathed as he looked at the Book with awe. It was open, and was moving on its own. The pages were flipping back and forth, so quickly that he couldn’t see the contents of the book. It was hovering in the air, still attached to June’s wrist, but free from both of Stephen and June’s hands.

            “You’re right…. How did you do it?” June asked as she watched the book.

            “I don’t know.” He said as he looked up at her, his blue eyes blazing in a mixture of emotions – excitement, fear, curiosity. “I just took a gamble, and flipped open the clasp, and it actually worked!”

            June ran her hand through her bangs as the Book continued to flip its pages, going from one end of the book to the other. “What is it doing?” She asked after a few seconds.

            “I’m… not really sure, to tell you the truth.” Stephen admitted. He reached out towards the Book, but it didn’t react to him. Stephen took the book in his hands, and used his fingers to stop the pages from flipping. He leaned forward and looked at the writing on the pages, and then his brows suddenly furrowed.

            “What’s wrong?” June asked.

            “It’s all… gibberish.” Stephen said, a little exasperated. “Every word of it.” He began to flip through the pages frantically, but couldn’t find a word that made sense in any language that he knew, not even the magical ones. “I don’t… understand.”

            “You’re joking, right? There’s no way that the Book is all-“ June leaned forward and got a look for herself at the pale pages of the Book. “Oh man, you’re right.” She looked up and Stephen, and he met her gaze.

            “Well, that was anti-climactic.” He said with a sigh, releasing the Book. It closed itself with a hard snap. Stephen sighed and stood up out of his chair, crossing his arms behind his back – a habit that he fell into when he was thinking hard about something.

            “Well, what now? We just changed the course of magical history, and it turns out our discovery is useless.” June said. Stephen nodded and sighed again.

            “Which is disappointing, to say the least. Why would the Book be illegible? That makes no sense…” He muttered.

            “If I’m the Vishanti’s chosen one, why can’t I read their writing?” June asked, looking down at the book of the Vishanti and flipping it between her fingers.

            “A good question. And why couldn’t you open the Book? Why did it have to be me?” Stephen began to pace back and forth, and he placed a hand on his chin, gently stroking the hair there. A moment of silence passed, and Stephen looked at June.

            “We have to take this to the council.” He said. June nodded.

            “Normally, I hate dealing with them, but this time… I’m with you.” She passed him a quick smile that lasted only a second.

            “Can you believe it, June? We’ve made magical history.” Stephen said, a bit exasperated. “I just… don’t know what it means.”

            “Yeah, we certainly have more questions than answers. Why did the Book act up before you opened it? Why isn’t it still pulling on my arm? Why can’t we read it?” She asked.

            “All good questions.” Stephen said. “If it acts up again, just throw a simple containment spell on it. That’ll show it who’s boss.” He looked up at the clock that hung up on the wall – 4:28 pm. It was only about 2:45 am in Kamar-Taj, meaning that they would have to wait until later that night for the council to be awake and moving. That left a lot of time to kill.

            “So, want to go watch a movie or something?” Stephen asked, putting his arms behind his back.

<…>

            The light of the sun filtered through the windows in the council chambers. Araav stood stoic as ever in front of Stephen, as he opened the book once more. As his shaking fingers undid the clasp, Haukea, Bao, and Shane all let out a small gasp. Deyman’s eyes went wide, seemingly impressed.

            “You really did it. I can’t believe it.” He breathed. Araav nodded.

            “What you’ve done is certainly… most impressive.” Araav stated.

            “How did you do it?” Haukea asked.

            Stephen closed the Book and let it dangle again at June’s wrist. He crossed his arms, while June brought her arm back down to her side. “I’m not really sure. I just tried to open it on a whim, and it worked.” He scratched the side of his head. “I... heard a voice, telling me to open it.” He admitted. While hearing voices was stigmatized in the _muggle_ world, among sorcerers, hearing voices was a sign of being connected to a higher power.

            “You heard a voice?” Bao asked, a brow raised. “Do you know who it belonged to?”

            “What did it sound like?” Araav cut in.

            Stephen shook his head. “It was nobody I recognized. It sounded like several voices at once, just barely there in my mind.” He passed a quick look to June, who gave him a small, reassuring smile. The message was there: you’re not a freak. She stood there in silence, waiting for an opportunity to speak.

            The council went silent, and they all looked at each other, passing nervous glances between themselves.

            “Master Strange, Miss Jones, if you would give us some time to discuss these events, it would be most appreciated.” Araav said, stepping forward.

            “Sure.” Stephen said with a nod. “This gives me time to get my new robes from Segwa anyway.” He casually mentioned. He had received a mystic message from the old woman, saying she was finally finished designing a new set of robes for Stephen. While he would have preferred his old set be repaired, there was no arguing with Segwa, or her decisions.

            “Fine by me.” June replied. They shared another look before leaving the council chambers, leaving the council to their own devices.

 

            “What do you think they’re going to talk about?” June asked as the door closed behind them. Stephen shrugged.

            “Who knows. Maybe they think they’re onto something with the voice thing? It’s really beyond me, as much as I hate admitting it.” The council was always a mystery, and their methods would always be an enigma to the Order as a whole. Not understanding something bothered Stephen greatly – his intellectual mind wanted to fully understand the world and all the people around him. A moment of silence passed between the two, leaving them both to ponder the council and their strange ways.

            “So, what do you think your new robes will look like?” June asked after a minute, showing that her mind was on other things.

            “That’s off topic.” Stephen said with a playful scoff. “But… I’m hoping they’re sexy. And blue.”

            “I’m sure they will be. Segwa did great work on your last robes.” June said with a smile as they walked. “So, you want them to stay blue?” She asked.

            “Looks best with Cloak.” Stephen said, a smile on his lips.

            _Always fashion-forward,_ June thought. Stephen certainly loved to dress well, and it showed with every outfit he wore, even if it was just a band shirt and some jeans. He always looked like he just stepped out of a magazine ad. “Makes sense.” June said with a nod. “Gotta coordinate with your accessories.”

            “Finally, somebody who understands.” Stephen said with a laugh. “None of the other sorcerers seem to be preoccupied with fashion.”

            “Well, Stephen, you are one in a million. There’s nobody quite like you.” June grinned.

            “You’re sweet.” Stephen said with a hand over his heart in a slightly sarcastic display. He looked ahead and spoke up, “We’re here.” There was a large set of doors at the end of the hallway, old and wooden with scuff marks and golden accents.

            They approached the door, and June knocked on it with a soft rap of her knuckles.

            “Oh, what now?” A tired, old, and angry voice shouted from the other side of the door. After a few seconds, one of the doors slid open, and a small Indian woman poked her head out of the door. Her face was wrinkled with age, and her eyes were always squinting. White hair fell in front of her face with reckless abandon, leaving June to wonder how this woman could see, let alone see well enough to make sorcerer robes.

            “Ah, Segwa. A pleasure, as always.” Stephen said, a small hint of sarcasm behind his tone, but Segwa didn’t seem to notice.

            “Who the hell are you again?” She asked, her hands shaking as she opened the door fully and stepped out into the hallway.

            “Uh, doctor Stephen Strange.” He said, caught a bit off guard by Segwa’s lack of memory or courtesy.

            “Strange… Strange, Strange, Strange…. Ah, you’re the one who had a bad run-in with the Roj-mal. What a shit job you did on that one.” She used her cane to hobble inside her workshop, and beckoned for June and Stephen to follow her with a wave of her boney hand.

            “Glad to know she’s a fan of yours.” June whispered to Stephen under her breath, making him let out a small chuckle.

            “No shit.” He replied under his breath, his brows raised for a second.

            The inside of Segwa’s workshop was dark, and cluttered. Mannequins were everywhere, and there were large piles of fabrics adorning every free surface. But despite how messy and dim the room was, there was no denying the quality of Segwa’s work. The clothed mannequins were stunning, with expertly crafted and intricate robes adorning them. Some were made from silk, but most were made out of thicker, more durable materials.

            A set of flowing red robes caught June’s eye. There were several layers, including a tunic and a large overcoat, and it was decorated with bold accents of blue and gold. _Maybe I should look into a new set…_ June’s red sorcerer robes were adequate, but they were still apprentice robes, and plain. She wanted something louder, that showed off her new rank as an independent sorcerer.

            “Your old set was ruined, couldn’t repair them.” Segwa croaked, pulling June out of her thoughts. “Which is good, because I wasn’t happy with them. Terrible, just terrible. They made you look fat, Strange.” She said as she hobbled towards a pile of folded robes. June let out a snort, while Stephen frowned at the comment. “But these…” She used some magic to lift the robes and make them hover in the air. “… These are art. Much better. I don’t know if you deserve them though.”

            “Excuse me?” Stephen asked. The robes floated over to him with a wave of Segwa’s hand, and he plucked them from the air eagerly.

            “If you ruin these, don’t bother coming back.” She said, her brows furrowed. “You’re on your own, I worked too hard on this set.” She poked Stephen’s chest with her cane, making him stagger a bit. “Well, try them on.”

            Stephen nodded, and his hands lit up with orange magic, sparks forming and flying off in every which way. The sparks multiplied, and quickly consumed Stephen in a second, concealing his form. They died down as quickly as they came, revealing Stephen in his sorcerer robes, with his normal clothes folded in his hands.

            The new robes were magnificent. They were as black as the night, with red and blue accents crawling up the chest and adorning the sleeves. There was a gold sash across his stomach, and his hands were covered by gold fingerless gloves. The robes had a long back to them, which draped behind him, past his knees. The design continued on his back, giving the robes a gilded elegance to them that could only be achieved by a master seamstress. The robes covered and hinted at a golden tunic underneath the black overcoat, completing the whole look.

            “Wow.” June breathed. “You look hot.”

            Stephen grinned at her, and passed her a quick wink before turning to Segwa. “Thank you, master Segwa.” He said with a bow. “They’re great. I couldn’t have done better myself.” He said teasingly.

            “You’re damn right you couldn’t.” Segwa hissed but a small smile found its way to the edges of her thin lips. “Now get out of here, I have more work to do.” She turned around and hobbled over to a desk, which was covered with various fabrics. Stephen turned to June, and they both left the workshop without a word.

            As they closed the heavy doors behind them, master Shane rounded the corner into the hallway.

            “Ah, there you are!” He said. His shoulders looked stiff, and his walk was rushed, as if there was something urgent happening. “I need you to come with me, master Strange.” He said.

            “The council can’t last five minutes without my glowing presence, can’t they?” Stephen joked. June rolled her eyes and elbowed him lightly in the side.

            “I wonder what they want.” She commented. Shane passed her a look.

            “We need _just_ master Strange. Sorry, Juniper. But I can’t let you into this one.” He explained.

            “What?” June scoffed. “Fine, keep your secrets.” She rested her hands on her hips and let out a small huff. She wasn’t used to be excluded from things, especially when they involved Stephen. She turned to him and motioned to the clothes he was holding. “Since it’s ‘No Junes Allowed,’ I guess I’ll meet you back at the Sanctum? I can take your clothes back to your place.” She said.

            “Sounds great, I’ll see you there.” Stephen said, handing her his folded clothes. He looked at Shane. “Let’s go.” He said with a nod.

            “Right on.” Shane said as he moved some of his messy black hair out of his face. Together, they left for the council chambers, leaving June behind to sling back to New York.

            “So, what’s all this about? Why can’t June be involved?” He asked Shane as they walked. He tried his best not to strut, but these new robes made him feel powerful and oddly sexy. His new and heavy boots clunked against the ground with each step.

            Shane shook his head, making his hair a bit messy as he did so. “I can’t explain out here, but you’ll understand when we get there.” He said. His silver robes billowed behind him as they walked, mirroring Stephen’s new black robes.

            Stephen frowned and tilted his chin down as he pondered the possibilities. _What could they want with me?_ Thoughts were running through his mind: maybe he was getting demoted? What if they were forcing him to take on a new student, instead of giving him the option to take one at his will? He still couldn’t figure out why June wasn’t invited to the meeting.

            Stephen didn’t have to wonder long. They reached the council chambers quickly, and master Shane opened the door for Stephen. Unsure of what he was facing, Stephen held his head high and walked into the room, ready for anything.

            “Master Strange.” Araav greeted. There were other murmurs of greeting from the rest of the council. Shane took his place besides Bao, who adjusted his wheelchair to face Stephen.

            “Let’s cut to the chase.” Stephen stated curtly. “I’m a busy man.”

            “Mind your tone.” Deyman snapped.

            Araav nodded. “As polite as ever. Very well.” He paused for a moment, and crossed his arms over his chest. “Stephen, we have an offer for you.”

            _An offer?_ Stephen’s mind raced to think of what it could be. “What kind of offer?” He asked.

            “A promotion, if you will.” Bao cut in.

            “You’ve earned it, if you ask me.” Haukea grinned at Stephen, being her usually sunny self.

            “Enough.” Araav gently warned the council. “Master Stephen Strange, we have selected you to become the next sorcerer supreme.”

            Stephen’s blood froze. _Sorcerer supreme? They’ve got to be joking! There’s no way!_ “I’m sorry, what?” He asked, shaking his head a bit.

            “He didn’t stutter.” Deyman said. “You’re the only man for the job. The Vishanti have decreed it.”

            “Wait, the Vishanti want me to be the sorcerer supreme? How can you tell?” Stephen asked. He felt like they were jumping to conclusions a bit. _They’ve got the wrong guy._

            “You opened the Book, Strange. You’ve done the impossible over and over again. You heard the voice of the Vishanti when you opened the Book for the first time. They’ve chosen you.” Araav explained. Stephen shook his head.

            “You’ve got to be joking…” He breathed, running a hand through his hair.

            “We’re not.” Araav said. “Do you accept the title?”

            _Sorcerer supreme…_ Stephen paused. To accept would be to embrace unlimited power. The council was openly admitting that he was the strongest sorcerer in the world by attempting to crown him. The position would be perks, including not only the formal title, but the ability to go above and beyond his current power level. _I could be just as powerful as the Ancient One…_ he thought. There would also be the bonus of running the council. They would defer to him, and he wouldn’t have to take their shit anymore. He would be the head of the entire Order, the commander and leader of every sorcerer on the planet. This would open new doors for him, allowing him new power and the ability to throw his weight around. He could actually fix all the problems at Kamar-Taj with that kind of power.

            As he pondered the concept in silence, the council watched him eagerly. Stephen crossed his arms and stoked his facial hair idly as he thought. Moments turned into minutes, and the silence was almost suffocating. After a few more moments, Stephen came to his decision.

            “No.”


	20. Would You Mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The long awaited "Eventual smut" has arrived! If you don't want to read NSFW, don't worry! The chapter has been set up in such a way that you can skip it and still understand what's going on when you pick it back up next chapter.

December 1st, 2019

 

            It was a blissful Sunday afternoon. Stephen had taken the day off from the sanctum (although he was still magically monitoring it for emergencies) and took the opportunity to not only spend the day with June, but reflect on the council’s recent proposition.

            _This won’t be the end of it…_ he thought. There was no way the council was going to take “no” for an answer – they believed he was chosen by the Vishanti for the role! The thought baffled him, because June was the Vishanti’s chosen, not him. His brow furrowed as he found himself unable to focus on the tv.

            He was lounging on the couch, with June laying on him, as they watched some sitcom about the 70’s. June would occasionally laugh, pulling Stephen out of his thoughts. He idly stroked her hair, causing her to look up at him. June frowned when she was his expression.

            “What’s wrong?” She asked. “The sorcerer supreme thing again?”

            “Yeah.” Stephen sighed with a nod. The notion of becoming sorcerer supreme ate away at his stomach and filled him with fear – the thought of being responsible for the protection of an entire dimension was enough to make him sick. All those people who would rely on him, how he would have to handle every major magical situation like a leader, all the responsibility that comes with leading the Order… the job wasn’t for him.

            June broke his train of thought by leaning up and kissing him gently. Stephen closed his eyes and leaned into the kiss. This is what mattered, here and now. _I can’t let what-ifs sour my time with June,_ he decided. June broke the kiss and smiled at him. He smiled back and gently ran a ran though her hair, which was let down and unconstrained.

            There was a question he’d been meaning to ask her, but the moment didn’t seem right. It was a sensitive question, to say the least, and Stephen wondered if June would react negatively to it. _But there’s no time for fear,_ Stephen coached himself. _Just ask her already!_

            “Hey… would you want to spend the night here, tonight?” Stephen asked, his voice betraying his nervousness. June looked up at Stephen, and his heart caught in his throat. _Oh no-_

“I thought you’d never ask.” June purred, and Stephen let out a mental sigh of relief. He blushed a bit and grinned at her, and she smiled back. “So, you want me to spend tonight here?” She asked.

            “I’d love that.” Stephen said, wrapping his arms around June and embracing her tightly. He pressed his lips against her forehead, making June giggle and blush. _God, I love it when she does that,_ he thought as he watched her, his heart beating a bit faster.

            _This is what life is about,_ he concluded. _Moments like this._

<…>

            If June said she wasn’t nervous, she would have been a liar. She stood in Stephen’s bathroom, examining herself in the mirror. Her tight tank top and pair of shorts left little to the imagination, showing off her shoulder and smooth legs. _I guess that’s the point,_ June thought. She sat down on the toilet and ran her hands up and down her legs gently, checking her shave. _Feels good._

            June took a deep breath and stoop up, steadying herself. _Don’t be a coward,_ she thought. _You’re just rusty._ It had been a while since June had coupled anyone – over two years. She hoped that the emotional relationship between her and Stephen would help him overlook her lack of experience. Her mind wandered, and a question appeared: _when was the last time Stephen got laid?_ He was a handsome, popular guy, she was sure that he had pussy at his beck and call. She frowned at the thought of Stephen with another woman, her face turning a bit red.

            _Don’t be like that,_ she coached herself. She inhaled deeply and let go of her jealousy, exhaling it with her breath. Stephen was hers, and hers alone. The past didn’t matter, only the present and future. She made her way towards the door and opened it, exiting the bathroom, and headed towards Stephen’s bedroom.

            She paused when she got towards the closed door, and stared down the dark wood. Her heart felt like it was hammering in her chest. _Courage,_ she reminded herself. _It’s just Stephen, there’s nothing to be ashamed of._ She reached out and turned the door knob slowly, and the door swung open with silent care.

            Stephen was in the room, smoothing out the sheets on the made bed. A candle on the nightstand was lit, filling the air with the aroma of whatever a “Midsummer’s Night” smelled like. He was shirtless, in just a pair of loose basketball shorts. A song danced from him, as he hummed a tune. It only took a second for him to look up and notice that June had entered the room, and he couldn’t keep the soft smile from his thin lips.

            “You look beautiful.” He almost whispered as June approached him. The look in his eyes was sincere – he really meant it. In that moment, all of June’s worries vanished.

            _Stephen would never judge me,_ she thought. There was no reason to be afraid of how she looked or acted, deep down, she knew Stephen would still love and enjoy her regardless.

            “Thanks.” June breathed. “You look… totally hot, if I’m being honest.” She said, making Stephen give off a small chuckle. She loved the visage of his muscular chest and arms. _What a rockin’ bod,_ she thought as a small blush colored her cheeks. She couldn’t believe that this body was about to be so close to hers, that she was about to fully experience it.

 Stephen stepped towards June, pulling her out of her thoughts. He gently embraced her, and placed a tender, loving kiss on her lips. June’s lips conformed to Stephen’s rougher ones, and she closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment. That’s what she loved the most about Stephen’s kisses, she could always feel the raw emotion behind them. The love, the lust, the caring. It was all laid bare for her.

“I just want you to know… tonight isn’t about the sex.” Stephen started after breaking the kiss. “This night is about us, and about how much I love you.” His hand gently caressed June’s cheek, and he stared into her eyes as he spoke. “I just… love you so much.” He breathed.

“I love you too.” June sighed as she leaned up and kissed him again, this time with a slow, deliberate passion behind it. Stephen parted his lips slightly, and June allowed him access. Their tongues swirled and danced, trapped in a ferocious and lovely tango. After a few moments, the kiss broke, leaving June and Stephen short of breath.

“So, um, shall we?” He asked motioning to the bed. June glanced at it, then passed him a quick nod.

“Can I make a quick confession?” June asked. “I’m… very rusty at this.” She admitted with a blush, looking down at the floor. Stephen stared at her and blinked for a second, before laughing.

“So am I!” He chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. I haven’t been laid in 3 years.” Stephen passed June a reassuring grin. “Not exactly my greatest accomplishment.”

“That makes me feel so much better!” June said with a small laugh. She hugged Stephen quickly and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. “At least I know you were saving yourself for me.” She teased him, making Stephen roll his eyes.

“There is something else we need to talk about though…” Stephen said as he looked down at his trembling hands. He sighed and frowned at the sight of them. “I can’t… do things that other men can. If you don’t want me because of that, I understand.” Part of Stephen hated himself for his hands. He couldn’t pleasure June like she deserved, couldn’t feel her soft skin like a normal person… “Fuck these useless things.” He snarled, looking down at the floor.

June rested her hands on his chest. “Stephen, that doesn’t matter at all to me. I don’t want anybody else but you, hands and all.” She reassured him. Stephen looked up at her, his blue holding depths of sadness, but also love and hope.

“You really mean that?” He asked, resting his hands on her hips and pulling her close, into his chest. June nodded.

“I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t. I love _you,_ Stephen, and all that entails.” She explained. Stephen leaned down and kissed her fiercely, with a wild love and hunger that was rarely allowed to surface. It was rough and needy, with a message a plain as day: _mine._ He broke the kiss with a gentle shove, making June land on the freshly made bed and inciting a small gasp out of her. He crawled into bed after her, choosing to lay down next to her instead of on top of her.

Without a word, June pulled at the straps of her tank top, pulling it down slowly, teasingly, to reveal her supple breasts. She blushed, and so did Stephen as he took in the view. Without a word, he reached out and gently slid his hands over one, feeling the mound with his damaged hands. There were spots on his hands that he had no feeling in, and some spots he felt too much – the sensation of skin on skin almost burned him. He hated his hands, and himself.

But he didn’t want his own self-loathing to sour the moment. June shimmied the shirt down over her hips, and after it was clear of her legs, she casually threw it on the floor. Stephen blinked as one of her hands wandered over to his groin, gently stroking his hardened length that was barely contained within his shorts.

“Damn.” She breathed. “You’re big.” Stephen grinned mischievously and chuckled at her comment 

“To be fair, you’ve given me a lot to work with.” He said with a slight purr, as he continued to gently knead her breasts with one hand, switching between them.

June took a hand and hooked a finger underneath the waistband of his shorts, and tugged on it. They didn’t move, since he was laying on his side. To oblige, Stephen lifted his hips and pulled down his shorts, letting his erection spring free from its confines.

June’s eyes widened at the sight – Stephen was _hung._ The thought delighted and terrified her. _I’m going to have to take all of that?!_ Worried thoughts raced through her head, but she cleared them with a shake.

At the sight of her obvious shock and astonishment, Stephen couldn’t hold back his cheeky grin. _Yeeeaaahhh,_ he thought smugly, finding his ego stroked to massive sizes. He reached up and began to tug at June’s shorts, signaling for her to take them off. With a raise of her hips, June obliged and shimmied out of her pink shorts, leaving her body completely nude.

She was expertly groomed, and her body was flawless. Smooth, tanned skin framed wide, curvaceous hips, which lead to shapely thighs. Stephen couldn’t stop himself from exploring her newly exposed body, he ran his trembling hand over the soft skin. June let out a small chuckle at Stephen’s obvious delight.

His needs couldn’t be ignored any longer. His member was hot and tingled with every touch of fabric and June’s hands, and it was demanding to be tended to. Stephen got off the bed with a groan and made his way to his nightstand, opening the drawer and pulling out a box of condoms and a tube of lubricant – a purchase he made shortly after June kissed him for the first time.

“Well, are you ready?” He asked. If he wasn’t a master at false bravado, his voice would have shaken. He wanted to be suave and sexy for June, to seduce her and give her the best sex she’d ever had in her life, but his lack of recent practice left him doubtful of his abilities. _How long will I even last…?_ The thought worried him, but he couldn’t let the fear of underperforming hold him back.

June nodded and sat up in the bed, crossing her legs and arching her back. Stephen approached her and handed her the lube. Using a bit of magic, Stephen tore open the box of condoms and pulled out one, repeating the same spell to get it out of its wrapper. Stephen went down to roll the condom on, but his trembling hands made it nearly impossible to get it started.

“Fuck…” He breathed in frustration.

“Here, love. Let me.” June purred as she leaned forward and began to gently unroll it down his shaft. She squeezed the air bubbles out of it, exciting a soft groan of pleasure from Stephen. June chuckled and looked up at his flushed face. “You like that?” She teased with a wink.

“Yeah.” Stephen breathed with a smile. Now that he was taken care of, June turned her attention to herself. She opened the fresh bottle of lube, and applied some of the cool jelly onto her hand. She applied the gel to her warm sex with a shiver and a gentle sigh, and she began to gently massage herself. She teased her opening before sliding a finger in ensure proper lubrication. The sensation was like hot lightning, and June found herself pumping and wiggling her finger inside of herself, eliciting soft sighs and mewls from her.

Stephen watched the display with raised brows, a smug grin, and a twitching cock. Seeing June play with herself was undeniably hot, and when she inserted a second finger and began to pump for vigorously, Stephen could feel his own erection begging for attention. It was heavy and throbbed, demanding June’s touch.

Panting, June removed her fingers from herself with a purr. “Alright, let’s dance.” She said with a that sexy smirk that drove Stephen wild. “How are we going to do this?”

“Edge of the bed, I’ve got to be standing.” Stephen explained. June nodded and sat the at edge, leaning back and aligning her hips so they barely went over the boundary of the bed. Watching her display herself made Stephen even more riled up – he was surprised that it was even possible at this point – and he quickly took position behind her, lining himself up with her opening.

“I’m ready.” June breathed as she pulled her hair out of her ponytail, letting it flow and cascade on the bed above her. Stephen gently pressed his tip against her opening, and with a gentle push, slid inside. June gasped, and Stephen bit his lip.

_She’s tight, almost too tight,_ he thought as the length of his cock was immediately choked by her walls. She was hot and wet, and Stephen slid in deeper, stretching her slowly. He fully buried himself, and June let out a small whine.

“Don’t move.” She said. They stood there for a few seconds, as June adjusted to Stephen’s size. The sensation of being stretched was pleasurable but also painful, but as time went on, the pain dissipated. “Alright, slowly.” June breathed.

Stephen began to slowly rock forward and backwards, in slow movements and in small increments. A deep part of him snarled in protest of this gentle display, his instincts shouted to just slam into her and fuck her raw, but he pushed down the urges. The concept of a raw, rough fuck would have to wait for another time. He wanted their first encounter to be loving and pleasurable for June.

“Ooohh…” June sighed as his thrusts grew longer and quicker. Stephen gripped June’s hips as hard as he could – which wasn’t very – and used her for balance and leverage while he thrust away. With each motion of his hips, Stephen let out a shaky breath and June let out a small mewl of pleasure.

“Oh, fuck…” He breathed. It was good, too good. Stephen wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to last. He slowed his speed, inciting a small whine of disappointment from his partner. He had no choice, the pressure inside of his hips was building too quickly, and he didn’t want this night to be over so quickly. His slow thrusts help him calm down a bit, but the primal urge to lay into her like a wild animal remained and only grew.

June squirmed a bit, her hands gripping the sheets as she let out another soft moan. The sight made Stephen smirk with pleasure – it filled him with pride, to know that he was pleasuring June in such a way that she couldn’t stay still. Her hand floated down to between her legs, where her fingers found her clit and occasionally brushed up against Stephen as he pressed himself inside of her.

The stimulation of Stephen’s slow, teasing thrusts and her own work on her sensitive bud was proving to be a potent combination, and she felt a familiar heat and pressure inside of her begin to build. It felt light lightning coursing through her, tracing up her spine and making her feel almost light-headed.

“Stephen…” She moaned softly. She tightened her legs around his waist, imploring him to go faster and harder. At the suggestion, Stephen responded in kind, finally freeing himself of inhibition and giving way to his more primal desires.

He pounded into her mercilessly, and a bit rougher than intended. June didn’t protest, instead her toes curled and her back arched as she let out a cry of bliss at Stephen’s new pace.

He ravaged her for minutes, enjoying every cry, squirm, and buck of her body. He matched her moans with grunts and sighs of his own, wanting her to know that he was enjoying himself as much as she was. A moan escaped his own lips and he ran his hands up June’s legs, feeling the smooth skin. He gripped them and pulled them up, making June rest her calves on his shoulders. He wrapped his arms around her legs and used the new position to thrust deeper and harder, much to June’s delight.

“Fuck! Stephen!” She nearly hissed as he made his way deep into her. Her end was nearing, she could feel it. The pressure building inside of her was too much, and it needed to find a way out. With each pound into her body, it came closer and closer to release. With her legs in this position, she couldn’t easily access her clit, but she didn’t need to. She pulled her hand away from it and used it to grip a nearby pillow. “Stephen, I’m close!” She cried.

“Me too.” He hissed behind clenched teeth. He was dangerously close, but he had to hold on for her. Especially if she was on the edge. An idea entered his head, and Stephen switched up the pace of his thrusts from quick and frequent back to slow and powerful. He pulled back so much that he nearly came out of her, and slammed himself fully into her as hard as he could.

This new pace drove June over the edge. “Stephen!” She cried as her back arched and her toes curled once more. Her whole body shuddered and shivered, and June let out a loud moan as pure bliss consumed her. Her eyes rolled up a bit and she panted, her body still shivering under his touch as Stephen continued to pound away.

He found his orgasm just as quickly, coaxed by June’s walls squeezing him hard as she climaxed. With a shudder, hot cum spilled from him and filled the condom, covering his cock with sticky warmth. He groaned with a clenched jaw and pulled out, stumbling backwards a step as he wiped his forehead with his hand.

“Holy shit.” Stephen panted as he stood, simply observing his hard work: June’s tired, shivering form. He paused as he took in the sight, she was simply beautiful. Naked, vulnerable, and genuine. Just as he was. They were two souls, presenting themselves to each other in their rawest, purest state.

As Stephen walked over to his trashcan to dispose of the condom, June rolled to her side and pulled her knees up to her chest. She was sore, and he legs were tingly and felt like noodles. She curled up and closed her eyes, feeling a wave of sleepiness wash over her.

“It feels better if you actually use the pillows.” Stephen said teasingly as he crawled back into bed, laying his head on one of the pillows as he panted, resting one of his hands on his chest.

June didn’t comment, instead she used her arms to crawl up to the top of of the bed, next to Stephen. She collapsed onto the pillow with a sigh, and closed her eyes once more.

“That was fantastic.” She breathed between deep breaths.

Stephen nodded. “Time of my life.” He admitted, turning onto his side, and curling up to June’s back, spooning her gently. A hand floated up to her hair, and he stroked her gently. “I love you so much…” He sighed as he closed his eyes.

“I love you too.” June said, a smile on her lips. “I’m sleepy.”

“Me too.” Stephen said with a nod. He sat up and got up off the bed, and tugged at the comforter. June took the hint and got up out of the bed with a groan of protest, and pulled down the sheet as well. Together, they both climbed under the sheets.

“So, is this goodnight?” Stephen asked, and June responded with a nod and a yawn.

“Goodnight, love.” She purred, and she nestled her head into the pillow. Stephen rolled over and turned off the lamp that adorned the night stand, shrouding them both in darkness. Stephen rested his head back on the pillow, and let sleep take him into the gentle night.


	21. Thunderstruck

December 4th, 2019

Dimension 1435. The _Savot_ dimension, its name being an ancient magical word for “purple.” And did it live up to its name. Purple skies stretched out as far as the eye could see, blending into a far-off horizon in the distance. The sun was inching closer and closer to the horizon – a brilliant white ball, slowly turning red. It would be night soon.

The grass was green – the familiarity that chlorophyll brought to Stephen was surprising to say the least. But knowing that other dimensions worked like his soothed a part of him – like the universe wasn’t so lawless.

June took a swig from her water bottle, the sound of the water sloshing around pulling Stephen out of his daydream. They were sitting on a rock, which wasn’t the most comfortable thing to sit on, but hey, it worked in a pinch.

“This place is awesome.” June commented, and Stephen smiled. Off in the distance, one could see a small heard of Uzza – cow-like beasts with spikes and long, scaled tails. “We need to come back here all the time.” She said.

Stephen nodded. “For sure. It’s a nice escape from the usual routine.” He said. Although he had to admit, that with June by his side, his routine had certainly gotten a lot more interesting – especially with the addition of sex in their lives.

“So, what now?” June asked, looking at him. Her hair was in it’s usual loose ponytail, and it swayed in the breeze with the tall, green grass.

“Question game? Or would you rather watch the sunset in silence, like we’re in a Clint Eastwood movie?” Stephen asked.

“Now see, if this were a Clint Eastwood western, we’d be walking into the sunset, not staring at it.” June said with a grin.

“Fair. And we would have just finished some sort of shoot-out duel.” Stephen said. “Which I would have won.”

June scoffed. “Uh-huh. Your hands would have made you a terrible marksman. I’d have shot your hat off by the time you could have lined up a shot!” June said.

“Not if I used magic to aim.” Stephen rebutted.

“That’s cheating, and you know it, you little shit.” June laughed, and Stephen joined her in her laughter.

“Hey, mind if I get a drink from that?” Stephen asked after he wiped one of his eyes. June nodded and handed him the bottle wordlessly, and Stephen took it with a small “Thank you.” He took a quick swig of the lukewarm water and handed back to June.

A creature roared in the forest behind the pair, causing them both to look over their shoulders at the tall trees. Some birds cawed and flew out of the forest, and another roar sounded.

“Huh. Wonder what’s making all of that noise?” June asked.

“If I had to guess, something big, ugly, and unfriendly.” Stephen said. “We should probably head out.” He said, standing up and stretching. June followed suit, resting her hands on her back as she arched her torso, leaning backwards a bit.

“Alrighty. God, that rock made my ass numb.” She said, causing Stephen to chuckle.

“Same here, if it’s worth anything.” He said as he rolled his shoulders.

“Hey, you mind if we swing by my house, real quick? I’ve got to grab some book I borrowed from the sanctum.” June asked.

Stephen raised a brow. “I don’t remember checking you out any books. Are you taking them without my permission now, you little thief?” Stephen teased.

June smiled sheepishly. “You caught me red-handed. But I’m not going to wait on your ass to check out books.” She said as she pulled her sling ring out of the pocket of her jeans.

Stephen scoffed. “Are you saying I’m slow?” He said with an expression of mock hurt.

June laughed. “No, I’m saying you’re busy all of the time, so I figured I wouldn’t bother you with something so menial like book check-out.” She said as she slid the ring onto her fingers, and quickly created a portal. Through it, one could see a slightly messy room – June’s room. They both stepped through it quickly.

The room was dark, illuminated by the portal, which gave off a flickering orange light. Posters covered almost every inch of available wall space – most of them representing bands and movies. The bed wasn’t made, and dirty laundry sparsely littered the floor.

“Sorry about the mess.” June said sheepishly as they entered the room. She made her way over to the night stand next to her bed and opened the drawer. She pulled out three books, each one decorated with magical runes and symbols.

“So, what did you end up borrowing?” Stephen asked, arms crossed as he kept his back to the portal.

“Maxim’s Catalogue, The Book of Serriah, and…” June checked the spine of the third book, translating the mystic runes. “… Kelgath’s Study.” She said. Stephen nodded.

“Combat training, I see. Looking to outmatch me in sparring one day?” He asked, a brow raised.

June chuckled. “I can only-“ A deafening roar cut off June mid-sentence, making her drop the books as Stephen whipped around, ready to close the portal.

Then the room exploded.

 

Stephen opened his eyes slowly, his vision blurry. His everything hurt, and he was disoriented. _What happened…?_ He rested his palms on the ground and pushed himself upwards, his body groaning in protest as he struggled to stand up. Trying to make sense of things, he examined his surroundings.

There was rubble everywhere. Where June’s house once was, there was just a large pile of rubble that vaguely resembled the lower level of the house. The house next door was similarly ruined. Stephen put a hand on his forehead as he staggered a bit, trying to get his bearings.

A question burned in his mind: _Where is June?_ His heart pounded in his chest with anxiety as he whipped his head around to look for her. _Bad idea,_ Stephen thought as dizziness overcame him for a moment, and a throbbing headache exploded to life in his head. He scanned the area again for her, this time with slower movements of his head, and found a pair of red converse sticking out from behind a large pile of rubble.

“June!” Stephen cried out as he rushed to her, praying that she wasn’t crushed. He went behind the rubble and let out a sigh of relief. She wasn’t crushed, merely unconscious. “June…” Stephen said as he bent down next to her. Her face was cut a bit, with a small amount of blood dripping from each cut, but she was otherwise unharmed. “Oh thank god.” He breathed. She wasn’t out of the woods yet thought – there was no telling what kind of head trauma she had endured, and he wouldn’t be able to tell until he got her to a hospital.

A deafening roar pulled Stephen out of his thoughts, making him look up, eyes wide with shock. “What the hell?” He said as he looked at the sight before him.

The monster was big, white, and looked like a leech, one that was fat with blood. It had about 30 eyes, each one being yellowed and having no pupil. Its mouth was gaping open, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth. From its back sprouted 10 long tentacles, each one flailing and destroying any building unfortunate enough to be in the beast’s way.

Stephen just now realized the damage and destruction around him. Buildings smashed to ruins, people running and screaming – how could he have had such tunnel vision?! He mentally kicked himself, and then looked back down. He knew why he didn’t notice any of it – it was because he was so caught up in June. A sour feeling filled his stomach, but there was no time to feel bad. He needed to attack this beast, and now.

Stephen got up and ran towards the beast on shaking legs. It roared at him and swung a massive tendril towards him. He rolled to the right, dodging its swipe. When he stood up on his feet again, he staggered once more. _Fuck,_ he mentally cursed. _I need backup!_ June was down for the count, and there were no other sorcerers stationed at New York, so that meant he would have to reach out to Kamar-Taj for help.

Creating a magical whip out of orange sparks, Stephen swung at the beast, slashing at it, hitting it directly in a few eyes. The monster roared and slashed at Stephen again – but this time, he was too slow to dodge. A tentacle caught his leg and easily broke it with its speed and force, causing Stephen to yell in pain and fall to his knees.

 _Oh god, think Stephen! Think!_ He mentally coached himself as he threw up a spellshield to block another attack from the beast. _At least this way, it’s occupied,_ Stephen thought. _But there has to be a way I can send it back…_

 _I have to get a hold of Araav._ There was no time for a sling portal, leaving one option left. Stephen made a few motions with his hands, and connected his and Araav’s minds with a telepathy spell.

Araav woke with a start, and Stephen could feel his shock and confusion. _No time,_ Stephen said in Araav’s mind. _Just help me._ He sent pictures to Araav, of his location, and of the monster he was fighting, and what his pan was. They flashed in Araav’s mind for an instant, and understanding filled their mental bond.

 _We will be there shortly, Strange. Just hold on,_ Araav told Stephen.

 _Hurry every chance you get,_ Stephen mentally hissed before closing the mental link. The monster attack Stephen once more, roaring in frustration that it couldn’t smash Stephen. But his shield was growing weaker by the second and was starting to crack.

His broken leg burned and begged for attention, but Stephen couldn’t heal it without putting down his shield and making himself vulnerable once more. The monster lashed out again, its tentacles bouncing off the shield for a third time. The crack in the shield grew larger, making Stephen’s heart hammer in his chest.

Suddenly, a few sling portals opened up, and several sorcerers poured out of them. _What took them so long, did they stop for Starbucks?_ Stephen mentally hissed but was glad to see them all the same. The monster roared in confusion as the new challengers, and took a swing at them, which was easily blocked by one of the sorcerers. Araav stepped through the sling portal and closed it behind him. _Thank god,_ Stephen thought as relief flooded him.

“Araav!” Stephen cried, getting his attention. The tall man quickly walked over to Stephen, as he dispelled his spellshield.

“Strange. Are you hurt?” He asked, his arms crossed. The monster roared in fury as the other sorcerers kept it distracted by attacking it.

Stephen nodded. “Leg’s broken.” He said, and Araav nodded.

“Heal yourself, then let’s finish this.” He said as he walked over to the others and conjured a bow, which he used to fire magical arrows into the mouth of the beast.

Stephen hissed as he began the healing spell. His bone burned and ached, and Stephen found his breathed labored as he healed himself. With a snap, the bone went back into place, causing Stephen to cry out in pain. Red filled his vision as he slowly healed his leg, then suddenly, relief took the place of pain as he finished. He let out a sigh as he stood up, his leg healed and ready to go. Quickly, he made his way over to Araav, who was still fighting the monster.

“Alright Araav, let’s do this.” He said, clenching his hands into fists and letting magic spark up his forearms. The councilor looked to him and nodded, before turning to the sorcerers. There were about 20 of them, all letting loose on the monster.

“Listen up! Circle it, and we’ll begin the banishment spell!” Araav barked, making the other sorcerers immediately take notice. The monster yelled and took another swipe at some of the sorcerers, making them have to jump out of the way or conjure a shield to protect themselves. They did what they were ordered to, however, and quickly circled the beast. Stephen took his place in the circle, next to Araav.

“Sorcerers!” Araav yelled, the noise booming and filling the air with dominance. “Prepare the spell of banishment!”

All the sorcerers took a wide stance and lowered their bodies, Stephen included. In tandem, they began to chant and move their hands and arms to make magic appear in the air.

“ _Altos! Vann!”_ They called as mandalas appeared before every sorcerer. In order to cast magic, one had to recite the mantra in their mind – a simple enough task. But to cast a spell in tandem, sorcerers had to verbally chant their spell in order to get the timing right with one another.

“ _Riktos! Alkeith son mar!”_ The mandalas grew with the second verse of the spell, and Stephen could feel the effects of such a powerful spell on his body – he could feel the strain, the pull on his energy. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he made the hand motion and swept his arm outward.

“ _Nomas kith fir son banis tann!_ ” The final verse of the spell was accompanied with everyone shoving their hands outward, and the sparking, orange mandalas grew to be massive in size. They connected, merged, and created a bubble around the beast.

The monster roared again and slammed its tentacles against the spell, but to no avail. It was too strong for the monster to break. The bubble began to vibrate and glow brightly, causing Stephen to shield his eyes from the light. There was a flash, and Stephen blinked.

Suddenly, the monster was gone. Some of the sorcerers let out an exclamation of joy, others applauded. Stephen stood in silence, before turning his attention back to June. He completely ignored Araav and the other sorcerers, and rushed over to where she was.

Panic filled him – she was gone. _Did she wake up? Where did she-_

“Mom! April!” June screamed, making Stephen jerk his head up. She was awake all right, and was using magic to tear piles of rubble from where her house stood. “Can you hear me?” She screamed, and Stephen’s heart filled with dread.

He hadn’t considered that April and May could have been home. _Oh, god…_ Dark thoughts filled his mind. _What if they’re hurt, or worse?_ Stephen wasn’t a religious man, in fact, part of him detested it, but he found a part of himself literally praying to any god that would listen – _make sure they’re okay._

“June!” Stephen called as he ran towards her.

“Stephen! Help!” Juniper yelled back, not taking her eyes off of her work as she continued to clear the rubble. He took his place by June’s side and began to help her, pulling up chunks of the house like she was.

Suddenly, a hand appeared in the rubble. It was limp and bloody, and June let out a scream of pain. June ripped up the house with a ferocity Stephen had never seen before, and threw the rubble behind her, where it landed with a thud. June screamed again and fell to her knees as she looked upon the crumpled forms of May and April, who were curled around each other.

 _Oh no._ Stephen’s blood ran cold, and he immediately ran to June and held her back, from running to them. He snaked an arm around her torso, pinning her arms to her side.

“Let me go!” She snarled, kicking and flailing her body.

“Don’t look at them!” Stephen yelled back, using his other hand to turn her head away from the scene. June fought and screamed, but she was drowned out by the wail of an approaching ambulance. He pulled her head into his chest and June’s body relaxed a bit, as her yells dissolved into sobbing.

“Over here!” A paramedic called as he exited the ambulance, signaling to his coworkers where to bring the stretcher. Another ambulance pulled up behind the first one.

Stephen felt June’s legs give out, and he dropped to the ground with her, still holding her as she sobbed.

“Just don’t look…” He breathed. He had no idea if her family was alive or not, but he couldn’t leave June to check. She shuddered and sobbed again, burying her face in his shirt. Stephen ran his hand through her hair, his own heart breaking with hers.

“Shhh…” He tried to soothe her, but to no avail. The world seemed to blur into lights and sound as the paramedics pulled the limp bodies fully out of the rubble. The damage was bad, and Stephen’s heart sank in his chest. Unable to watch, he leaned his head down against June’s and closed his eyes, and gently rocked back and forth, trying to soothe his love.

“I’m so sorry.” He breathed.


End file.
